When I was 8 years old, my father explained to me the secret to American prosperity.
Immigrants come to the United States and take menial jobs so that their children have a chance at a better future, he told me. While the jobs they take are below their intrinsic capabilities, they’re focused on giving their children a better life, not personal job satisfaction. Second-generation children, seeing how hard their parents work to give them an opportunity, in turn work hard at school, where, he noted, they often focus on mathematics and science in pursuit of the economic returns promised by careers in engineering and medicine. Third-generation kids figure the economic return on effort expended is better for business and legal professionals and pursue those professions instead of technical ones. By the fourth generation, any immigration-related incentives to work hard are largely nonexistent.
It was a gross generalization used to explain to a child the importance of immigration, but one that I have since found to be generally accurate.
On this 233rd celebration of U.S. Independence Day, in the midst of the worst economic recession in at least a lifetime, there is a national debate taking place as to the direction of the country. And while I’m confident that we will preserve our democracy and capitalism, I’m concerned about the tone and tenure of the discussion around immigration. Smart immigration policies will do more for American innovation and productivity than better math and science education, more spending on basic research and additional venture capital combined. If we get strategic about immigration, I believe the U.S. can preserve its economic leadership position in the world far longer than anyone currently expects.
7 responses so far ↓
America’s Secret Innovation Weapon: Immigration « Pradeep Sethi’s Blog // July 4, 2009 at 7:06 pm |
[...] Immigrants come to the United States and take menial jobs so that their children have a chance at a better future, he told me. more [...]
Michael Nikolaou // July 5, 2009 at 1:56 pm |
I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Speiser, except for one thing: Immigration as an innovation weapon is not a secret. It has been at the core of American immigration policy for quite some time. The recent boom in undocumented (read: illegal) immigration is only another sign of the sorry state of our political affairs. You suggested the obvious (encourage legal immigration of foreign talent) but, unfortunately, there is little interest by both parties (for fear of losing either the minority vote or support from businesses using cheap labor)…
And as an immigrant, I gladly accept your thanks and return the gratitude to a country that helped bring the best out of me.
Steve Carmeli // July 6, 2009 at 7:11 am |
Mr. Speiser,
I once read an article that said we already have enough underemployed and unemployed highly talented people. To my surprise I wound up going to a church where 65% of the membership had graduate degrees. I knew a couple who had scientific Ph.D.s from CalTech and couldn’t find work!
The point I’m getting at is that the U.S. has enough. We don’t need a better, richer upper class at the expense of everyone else. We need a better world. There is simply no space to address that problem here, save to say that the model you advocate is so self-centered and outdated that I’d like to suggest, among other things, and I know this sounds outrageous, but it is neo-colonial and exploitative in nature. This is the kind of thinking that makes third world intellectuals hate the U.S.
Joe Greenstein // July 7, 2009 at 2:53 am |
Hey mike -
Great post – i wholeheartedly agree. I’d also mention a recent NYTimes op-ed that pointed out the enormous untapped economic potential if we loosened immigration rules for people with the resources to buy property. Could go a long way to alleviating the excess supply crushing our real estate sector right now…
hope all is well!
best,
j
Chris Grayson // July 9, 2009 at 9:10 am |
Bravo. I wrote a piece on Immigration last year on H-1B visas. Not exactly the same, but a similar sentiment. Yes, we need a sensible immigration policy.
http://tinyurl.com/Gates-Immigration
cheers,
Chris
Matt Rafat // July 15, 2009 at 2:18 am |
Kudos on an excellent article. I’ve written before about the benefits of immigration, which seem obvious to Bay Area residents:
http://willworkforjustice.blogspot.com/2009/02/immigrants-add-to-american-economy.html
Cheers,
Matthew
Vivek // December 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm |
Mike:
I came across this article only now, hence the delayed comment, not sure you’d read this. I sure wish to share my story :
Born and raised in India. Came to the United States on a student visa to attend graduate school. Obtained a graduate degree in business administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from a decent university. Went to work for a risk management systems vendor in NewYork, built their US prof operations from the ground up . Decided to launch a digital media venture ,lined up $200K in first tranche of investment , only to find that there is no startup founder visa in the US . Therefore decided to leave the USA and look for a place that has first world infrastruture, access to capital , an innovative talent pool and entrepreneur friendly visa programs. Singapore was a logical choice because of all of the above plus the ENTREPASS visa program – a Visa awarded to entrepreneurs who can demonstrate a good business plan and commit a reasonable amount of investment. Got all necessary work permits in 2 weeks, today I manage an innovation unit at the Innovation & Technology Transfer Office in a leading university in Singapore. Shortly switching to Entrepass and launching the same venture from Singapore. Wish atleast future innovators benefit from your efforts to set the right direction on immigration policy design.