Immigration: Select for Risk Tolerance

iWe
iWe
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It has been pointed out that all the brave Scotsmen left to settle the world – from New Zealand to Hudson’s Bay, the intrepid Scots made it all happen. They left behind everyone who let their fears control their lives. Scotsmen have conquered the world, while Scotland today is a wallowing morass of welfare and zero-sum despair.

I think the same pattern repeats itself with most other immigrants: America self-selected immigrants who craved freedom and opportunity and could overlook the insecurity and all the unknowns inherent in boarding a ship for distant shores, never to return. I am not sure if there is a genetic component to this tolerance, but there surely is a cultural one: cultures and religions differ in their belief in the ability of individuals to direct their own fate, and most people are swept along by the prevailing winds of nature and nurture.

If we consider that America was founded by this self-selected crowd, and that risk tolerance seems to be somewhat-inherited, then a few things follow:

1: The founding principles of the United States attract like-minded immigrants, but these same principles do not export very well. There is a reason other countries do not have the American Spirit.

2: If we wish to preserve this ethos, then the United States should continue to welcome hard-working, risk-taking immigrants – and one easy way to change the incentives is to entirely bar all public moneys for immigrants.

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  1. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter
    10:17 AM EST ⋅ Jan 30, 2022

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    Don’t count me in for supporting immigration. Immigration causes more problems than it solves and creates a discordant, fragmented society.

    Lack of immigration causes problems, too.

    Not if the general population were reproducing at a rate they should be.

    Even if. You’re thinking of different types of problems.

    So tell me, what problems from lack of immigration?

    Lack of interaction with other cultures can be a big problem. It can happen, not only in island countries.

    In this day an age with the internet and international travel?

    Consider the coastal enclaves of woke folk. You don’t get more insular than that.

    • #31
  2. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator
    3:49 PM EST ⋅ Jan 30, 2022

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    Don’t count me in for supporting immigration. Immigration causes more problems than it solves and creates a discordant, fragmented society.

    Lack of immigration causes problems, too.

    Not if the general population were reproducing at a rate they should be.

    Even if. You’re thinking of different types of problems.

    So tell me, what problems from lack of immigration?

    Lack of interaction with other cultures can be a big problem. It can happen, not only in island countries.

    In this day an age with the internet and international travel?

    That can help, but actually working with people helps you get to know them a lot better. Tourist interactions are relatively superficial. 

    • #32
  3. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny
    4:34 PM EST ⋅ Jan 30, 2022

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    The Reticulator (View Comment):

    Manny (View Comment):

    Don’t count me in for supporting immigration. Immigration causes more problems than it solves and creates a discordant, fragmented society.

    Lack of immigration causes problems, too.

    Not if the general population were reproducing at a rate they should be.

    Even if. You’re thinking of different types of problems.

    So tell me, what problems from lack of immigration?

    Lack of interaction with other cultures can be a big problem. It can happen, not only in island countries.

    In this day an age with the internet and international travel?

    That can help, but actually working with people helps you get to know them a lot better. Tourist interactions are relatively superficial.

    But there are international businesses and commerce. I just don’t see that as an issue. 

    • #33
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