America’s success depends on immigration
Twelve years ago, in April 2005, I was in the audience at an European event organized by the Hay Group for about 500 of their clients, in Berlin.
In those days, it had become clear that the American invasion of Iraq had created more problems than solutions. Country building was more complicated than anticipated. The coalition of forces that occupied Iraq and Afghanistan was beginning to fall apart, some countries were talking about withdrawing their troops (eventually they did). We were far away from the Syrian refugee crisis, but the topic everyone was discussing was the gradual long-term decline of the US economy compared to the rise of China and others. The BRIC countries were all the rage; the longer term economic success of the US and Europe was being questioned.
Kjell Nordstrom, author of “Karaoke Capitalism” and “Funky Business” made the presentation with the strongest impact. In response to the question: “will the US continue to lead the world economy in the long run, or will they be surpassed by Europe or by China?” Nordstrom stated simply: “Yes, the US will continue to lead the world, and here is why.”
He then made the case that “it takes just two years to make an American, while it takes from five to seven years to make an European.” He explained that he was talking about immigrants and how long it took for an immigrant to be granted local citizenship. It’s much quicker to gain American citizenship, and the best talented youngsters from all over the world prefer to go to America. Why? Because they have the best universities, and young talents aspire to get higher education (and a degree) from those schools. Once they achieve that, and since they are already in the US, they get job offers and they know that after two years they can get citizenship, so they stay on and become American. This flow of international talent will continue to fuel America’s economic and social development for decades to come.
Europe cannot compete, because the universities are not as good; and when you finish your course you are driven away, back to your home country. If you stay, you will need to wait at least five years (seven in some countries) before you can apply for citizenship. And in some countries (like Germany) even if you are born there you do not get citizenship automatically, if your parents are foreigners.
The audience were disappointed. What they wanted to hear was that Europe was becoming stronger and would eventually take over the US’s leading position. Yet, no one could argue against Nordstrom’s reasoning: it made absolute sense.
Dissolve to 2017. The Trump Administration is facing enormous criticism for changes in the US immigration policy. Let’s try to look at it objectively.
Illegal immigration is bad, anywhere; it should be stopped. However, it is necessary to approach the issue with intelligence. If you simply stop immigration to the US overnight, or if you discourage talented people from aspiring to become Americans, that would be a very stupid approach. This would cause the economy to eventually collapse. The negative effects would be felt in a matter of months, already. In five years, it would be catastrophic.
Selecting immigrants is similar to selecting job applicants to a company. You definitely want to do this carefully, so that you hire the best talent AND you remain attractive for other talented people. You also want to retain your talent, rather than see them returning to their home base or joining the competition after a year or so.
