Thread by @Helenreflects

In these crunch talks on Brexit, it's really disappointing to see how both the UK and EU are so eager to have bratwurst, cheese, and car parts move about freely while blithely putting up barriers against people moving, e.g.,
politico.eu/article/uk-unl… 1/

I am not talking only about immigration though that has had huge benefits, I am also talking about collaborations such as student exchange programs and scientific collaborations such as Horizon 2020. The UK has *hugely* benefited from this and yet... nothing 2/

Why deprioritize people? The free movement of people is even in line with the free market orthodoxy. If your prospective employer wants you and you want to work for them, why should governments be interfering and putting loads of red tape and deterrents? 3/

We know the benefits of movement of people *vastly* outweigh any small costs. The UK government has studied this extensively! EU citizens don't drive wages down, they even barely affect housing prices. They don't weigh on schools etc as they pay more in than they take out. 4/

And it is beneficial for UK citizens to be able to move freely to 27 countries. I'm an immigrant now in a country with a lot of red tape to foreigners coming in (the US), and I can tell you (as a privileged immigrant) you do not want this red tape if you can help it 5/

E.g., restrictions on my spouse and my teenage child to work, bringing over family members etc, ability to get federal funds for when she goes to study, etc etc. Trust me UK citizens you do not want such barriers to your movement 6/

Now the UK passport is worth a lot less than it was a few years ago. So why not prioritize the free movement of persons? Why prioritize the free movement of bratwurst and cheddar? Ah... you might say: xenophobia! Gotta appease the xenophobes! 7/

But stopping freedom of movement and putting up barriers for students and scientists is a really ineffective way to stop xenophobia. In fact, more connection to people, more contact is more effective. Read work by Susan Fiske, Betsy Paluck and others on this... 8/

So, prioritize freedom of movement of persons now. This will benefit everyone. UK citizens, EU citizens already in the UK, EU citizens who would like to come (and who really, really will benefit your economy and culture!). It's not too late (though nearly!!) /end