Extend citizenship or borders

ARTICLE: L America migrant money tops aid, By Duncan Kennedy, BBC News, 19 March 2007

As you may remember from BFA (and assuming I do so correctly myself), this is basically one of the points I made about how Hispanic immigrants coming to America--legal or not--are generating far greater money flows back to their homelands (while spending over 90 percent of what they make here in our economy) than all the combined OECD aid.

This while simultaneously starting new businesses at a relatively higher frequency than natives and backfilling all sorts of 3D (dirty, dangerous, difficult) jobs in our economy.

Social stress? Definitely. A certain welfare burden for the state (education, med)? Certainly.

But considering all the poverty alleviation we're buying with this scheme, we have to either extend citizenship or our borders, because nothing else will satisfy.

Thanks to Bgrant for sending this.

Comments

[Mark in Texas]

I have often thought that one of the missed opportunities of the Clinton Administration was the Mexican debt bail out.

We should have given them more money and bought Baja California at the same time. Don't tell me that 2000 miles of ocean front property suddenly transferred into the United States rule sets would not have more than paid for itself in economic activity and tax revenue within a decade.

[Al Alborn]

Technology, connectivity, and mobility have made borders another interesting artifact of the past. Investing in higher fences is similar to investing in buggy whips. Our Government (all Governments) should recognize this new reality and let the free market do its job.

The “new reality” would be an interesting subject for your next book. Our current crop of world leaders continue to live within the context of the past. This might be the update to Adam Smith's, "Wealth of Nations" that the world is waiting for.