If you really want to get into the details, I recommend the book “The Economics of Immigration” by Ben Powell.

It talks about the distribution of the kinds of people who seek to immigrate and how they tend to compliment the local population.

For example, immigrants tend to be either high skilled (college grad from Mumbai) or low skilled (border crosser looking for work). Those sub-populations are both lacking in the mainly middle-of-the-distribution American populace.

In addition, people tend to immigrate when they’re in the prime of life. Young ambitions adults who want to work and improve their lot. They’re already through childhood and not yet near old age—the two times of life when people tend to consume more resources than they contribute.

Everyone tends to be better off with more immigration.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

It depends. Welfare policies can skew the measuring stick. Also how many non working dependants can be supported by a basic income.

Welfare is socialism. It must be abolished.

If you say “well yeah, but…” then you’ve already lost to socialism. Strengthening borders only serves to entrench this disease.

I was speaking case specific to the reality of the country in question. I don't believe in free anything from the state.

There is always a cost to state welfare.

And it is primarily used as a hook for control and exploitation disguised by philatrophic virtue signalling.

What I was implying is that welfare policy affects immigration value. The less welfare the more beneficial the immigration. The more welfare the more parasitic the immigration.

If a hardworker makes a good salary and spends it all to support lazybones family members who hang around at the park whistling at girls all day. Did you have net positive or negative immigration value? Thats the question in more words.