Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Facebook and my Political Identity
Like many others, I am upset and angered by the legislation recently passed in Arizona which requires police officers to demand proof of citizenship from those they suspect to be illegal immigrants. Like even more others, I sometimes find it necessary to express my political opinions by joining exactly the right snarkily named facebook group. I have already joined this group, which does a good job of getting across my basic opinion about this law, but I want to join another group to more fully articulate my position, preferably one with a witty or at least memorable title. I can't really find any appropriate contenders - and can't think of exactly the right group to start. Any ideas?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Why Cleveland may not be so bad...
This sign is from where? Indianapolis, Indiana. Awesome.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Why I don't want to live in Cleveland
OK, this may be preaching to the choir, because I don't really think my readers are trying to build walls across the border or anything, but I was really happy to read this article about immigration. Especially in the face of tea-party related hysteria regarding immigration and amnesty, I think we (non tea partiers) need to make the case more loudly about why we like immigration.
The cool thing about this NYT article is that it addresses both high and low wage - or less delicately, both high and low skill immigrants. It is not super controversial that high wage/ high skill immigrants are a plus for America. They create jobs, pay taxes, teach in our universities, learn English quickly, and come in relatively small numbers - numbers the government essentially controls by determining the number of visas given to high wage/ high skill immigrants. The immigrants that the tea partiers are getting so worked up about, and the ones I think we need to explain our support for loudly in this current political climate, are the low skill/ low wage workers. These workers may cross US borders illegally, or they may come as refugees, or they may come as family of workers already here - it doesn't matter so much. I, anyone who has been to California's central valley, and big agribusiness know that these workers too are key to the American economy - especially in agriculture but probably in other sectors as well. What this article mentions, and I think is even more crucial is that immigrant workers of every skill and wage level are key to the vitality and economic strength of American cities.
Put it this way - the Cleveland Clinic, and UCSF Hospital probably have similar (similarly high) number of doctors born outside of the US, but what makes San Francisco an world class, vibrant, exciting city and Cleveland (no offense) not are the large, varied immigrant communities. These communities create vibrant and often affordable neighborhoods, draw tourists, and spend their money in San Francisco. Where would you rather live: Orlando or Miami? Brooklyn or Albany? San Diego or Salt Lake City? (I'm not certain about this one but I'm guessing) Toronto or Ottowa? Me too!
The cool thing about this NYT article is that it addresses both high and low wage - or less delicately, both high and low skill immigrants. It is not super controversial that high wage/ high skill immigrants are a plus for America. They create jobs, pay taxes, teach in our universities, learn English quickly, and come in relatively small numbers - numbers the government essentially controls by determining the number of visas given to high wage/ high skill immigrants. The immigrants that the tea partiers are getting so worked up about, and the ones I think we need to explain our support for loudly in this current political climate, are the low skill/ low wage workers. These workers may cross US borders illegally, or they may come as refugees, or they may come as family of workers already here - it doesn't matter so much. I, anyone who has been to California's central valley, and big agribusiness know that these workers too are key to the American economy - especially in agriculture but probably in other sectors as well. What this article mentions, and I think is even more crucial is that immigrant workers of every skill and wage level are key to the vitality and economic strength of American cities.
Put it this way - the Cleveland Clinic, and UCSF Hospital probably have similar (similarly high) number of doctors born outside of the US, but what makes San Francisco an world class, vibrant, exciting city and Cleveland (no offense) not are the large, varied immigrant communities. These communities create vibrant and often affordable neighborhoods, draw tourists, and spend their money in San Francisco. Where would you rather live: Orlando or Miami? Brooklyn or Albany? San Diego or Salt Lake City? (I'm not certain about this one but I'm guessing) Toronto or Ottowa? Me too!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wolves Slinking through the Crumbling City
On the outskirts of a German city nicknamed 'Hoy Woy' by its residents, wild wolves slink around abandoned and crumbling buildings. Why? Germans, it seems, and especially the citizens of Hoy Woy are reproducing at way below replacement rate, or the number of children each woman would need to have to keep the population constant. Anyone remotely employable leaves Hoy Woy, especially young women, leaving young unemployed men without prospects for either jobs or a family.
Besides slinking wolves, the shrinking population of German cities creates lopsided demographic ratios, with twice as many 40 year olds as 10 year olds. This article, though, and many like it, suggests that the demographic situation in Hoy Woy portends badly for Europe as a whole - Europeans have gone from producing 10 million babies a year, to less than 6 million. European civilization down the drain!
The problem with this pessimism is that it requires a pretty unthoughtful view of European culture, immigration, and the nature of cities. I am not sure I have the best grasp of all of these things in the world, but lets give it a try. Major German cities such as Berlin and Frankfurt have boomed, and became major international centers of culture and commerce (or at least of one or the other) while seeing a growing number of immigrants. Obviously the cause and effect here is tricky - do the immigrants create creative, dynamic cities, or do creative dynamic cities attract immigrants? Who knows. Point is, there doesn't seem to be much of a threat of these cities disappearing. So can you more easily find 'German culture,' whatever it is, in Hoy Poy, or in Berlin? Does German culture really mean Bavarian culture, with beer gardens and women in dirndles? Is German culture really the art scene in Berlin? Claiming that neither of these is endangered by the collapse of Hoy Woy doesn't take into account the ridiculous extent to which I'm privileging West German over East German culture, but anyway... The harmful effects of declining population rates have to do with the people who living in emptying cities, with few job opportunities and crumbling infrastructure, not with some theoretical idea of German culture. The thing about this claim, is that the first thing, the emptying cities thing, is addressed by immigration while the culture thing isn't.
Besides slinking wolves, the shrinking population of German cities creates lopsided demographic ratios, with twice as many 40 year olds as 10 year olds. This article, though, and many like it, suggests that the demographic situation in Hoy Woy portends badly for Europe as a whole - Europeans have gone from producing 10 million babies a year, to less than 6 million. European civilization down the drain!
The problem with this pessimism is that it requires a pretty unthoughtful view of European culture, immigration, and the nature of cities. I am not sure I have the best grasp of all of these things in the world, but lets give it a try. Major German cities such as Berlin and Frankfurt have boomed, and became major international centers of culture and commerce (or at least of one or the other) while seeing a growing number of immigrants. Obviously the cause and effect here is tricky - do the immigrants create creative, dynamic cities, or do creative dynamic cities attract immigrants? Who knows. Point is, there doesn't seem to be much of a threat of these cities disappearing. So can you more easily find 'German culture,' whatever it is, in Hoy Poy, or in Berlin? Does German culture really mean Bavarian culture, with beer gardens and women in dirndles? Is German culture really the art scene in Berlin? Claiming that neither of these is endangered by the collapse of Hoy Woy doesn't take into account the ridiculous extent to which I'm privileging West German over East German culture, but anyway... The harmful effects of declining population rates have to do with the people who living in emptying cities, with few job opportunities and crumbling infrastructure, not with some theoretical idea of German culture. The thing about this claim, is that the first thing, the emptying cities thing, is addressed by immigration while the culture thing isn't.
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