WhipperSnapper
Lifer
- Oct 30, 2004
- 11,442
- 32
- 91
no. we need more immigration. just about every facet of america is made better by immigrants...from food to economics.
How does the food situation improve? More people means less arable land and prime productive farmland available per capita. Not only that, but as the population grows there is pressure to convert farmland into housing and other things, reducing the amount of land available for food production.
How do you figure that the economic situation improves? Wouldn't much of that depend on the kinds of immigrants who are entering and the nation's overall economic state?
Let's suppose that your nation has, say, 20 million unemployed and underemployed people. You then add 5 million new immigrants who will need jobs. Your nation now has 25 million unemployed people and wages have been driven further down. Is that really an improvement?
What if the immigrants consume more in government services than they contribute in tax revenue (if they are even paying taxes at all)? They might consume public housing funds, education funds (for their kids), Medicaid funds, emergency room funds, and any associated criminal justice costs. It's an act of faith to assume that all or even most immigrants are going to be "profitable" for a nation.
In your view, is the amount of population that the nation can comfortably support unlimited? Is there such a thing as a "carrying capacity"? In your view, do things like farmland, timber, clean air, and clean freshwater exist in unlimited infinite supplies? Don't forget the environment's capacity to absorb pollution; more people means more waste and pollution.