People don't realize how much immigration to the U.S. has slowed down.
And people don't realize what a big hole this is going to leave in our population.
One big reason we need immigration is that without it, we risk becoming an economic backwater as Asia catches up with us in terms of income.
Another reason is that our dependency ratio is rising, meaning that we have fewer and fewer working-age people to take care of each retiree.
Immigrants do much of the work of physically caring for our elderly people. Without them, eldercare prices will rise, and people will have to do more of the work of caring for their own elderly family members.
Furthermore, immigrants give a HUGE fiscal boost to our government coffers. Without them, taxes are going to have to rise in order to support the elderly.
Do not listen to the Tucker Carlson types and the Amy Wax types. Immigration is not a threat to America at all. Indeed, it's the LACK of immigration that's the threat.
The terms "low-skilled" and "high-skilled" are insulting, yes. But somebody give me a better way to say "possessing skills that command a high premium in the labor market" vs. "not possessing such skills" without typing those phrases out every time.
And some people are responding that I should just say "low-wage" vs. "high-wage" but this is absolutely wrong. I'm talking about PEOPLE, not jobs. A PhD student waiting tables is low-wage, but not "low-skill". So that isn't going to work.
Also, "just don't think about this distinction" really isn't going to fly here either, as earnings potential matters for all kinds of policy decisions.
The former Warsaw Pact countries are doing great, making steady progress toward catching up with West Europe.
The Baltics took a huge hit from the fall of the USSR and another huge hit from the 2008 financial crisis, but they have bounced back both times and are on a very positive growth trajectory.
Vintage Lego battle: Space Police vs. ragtag anarchist protester fleet
Who will win??
"ACAB!!!" the anarchists shout over the subspace network as they bravely dive their homemade fighter craft at the massive police battlecruiser
The Space Police have bulked up their armaments, due to years of surplus military equipment getting dumped on the market after the war against the Star Wars Lego sets