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The author's main reply to standard immigration boogeymen are keyhole solutions, which are admittedly a pretty cool idea. A keyhole solution is one that tries to address the negatives of a policy exactly, rather than torpedo the entire policy because of a few problems. In the link from the article, suggestions like: if worried about foreigners voting against the interests of current citizens, don't allow foreigners to vote. If worried that a specific market sector will be affected, compensate that sector. Basically: pursue overall improvements, and compensate the losers or guard against specific negatives. This reminds me of a funny story. Bear with me. My brother is about to graduate with a physics degree. In an interview with an engineering firm, they asked, "You have a metal that expands/contracts with heat according to such-and-such relationship. How do you keep a room at such-and-such temperature?" He answered, "Oh, just wire things up such that when the metal does blablabla, it heats the room, and when it does the opposite, turn off the heat." "Could you explain what you mean by "wire things up?"" "Oh, I don't know. That's an engineering problem." My brother did not get hired, to everyone's (including his, ha) relief. Keyhole solutions seem like bullseye-on-head clusterfucks of political engineering. They are (by definition) complex and involve many interest groups. Proponents (correctly, I think) point out that they are designed for that environment, in that they may gain support from all parties, but for different reasons. But is there any guarantee that the bill remains integrated? What about a last minute addendum/removal of a clause? We can't seem to stop SOPA and cousins; is anyone confident that the legislative process is their friend? I know, I know, it's a political engineering problem, not an economic one. Hence the story about my brother. Sometimes you need an engineer. |
Yeah, so just create a society with an underclass with no political power, sounds like a great way to create a healthy thriving nation...