Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by crdoconnor 4332 days ago
>It's really unfortunate because the only reason most people are against immigration, deep down, is that they fear they will be usurped by cheap labor.

There's many good reasons to be against immigration apart from that:

1) It lets companies play third world workers off against first world workers. We know that they tell the first world workers to shape up (i.e. work overtime; accept abuse & wage theft) or have their job shipped to China, but they actually do the same to the 3rd world workers too with the threat of insourcing.

After all, there are MANY times when it's a trade-off between more expensive but higher productivity 1st world workers and lower productivity, lower paid 3rd world workers. BOTH wages are driven down (often to unbearable levels) by tearing down trade barriers, because they can simply pick the workforce that is more desperate.

2) 3rd world countries often spend outrageous amounts of money to educate their workforce, only to have the cream of the cream high tail it to a high income country which gets all of the benefits of that education. This is a direct subsidy from poorer countries to richer countries that goes largely unacknowledged.
2 comments
zo1 4332 days ago
All the things you describe are symptoms of the fact that their is a wage-differential caused by trade/immigration barriers. That's why I said it has to get worse before it'll get better. Even if the current barriers create problems... More barriers will just make the subsequent correction more catastrophic for the individuals involved.
link
JoeAltmaier 4332 days ago
If countries were people, then 2) would matter. As it is, real folks pay to have their children succeed. I would guess that many aren't as interested in Where (home or abroad) as When. So its not all bad or wrong.
link
tormeh 4332 days ago
No no, many countries pay to have their citizens educated. The citizens often do not pay anything at all except in taxes. This means you can get the good (education) without paying for it (taxes) if you emigrate after you get your degree.
link
JoeAltmaier 4332 days ago
Sure, I understood that.
link