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A world of free movement would be $78T richer

economist.com

51–60 of 402 posts

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#51
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people looking after their own children are: 1. providing good child care 2. adding value

> 2. Adding value Don’t you think that a PhD in their thirties would add more value if they instead focused on their studies subject?

What % of people is this? Vast majority this isn't the case. Many degrees are worthless so don't lump them in.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#52
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, seems like there may have been a reason for the old traditions after all. The Economist's point is weird/wrong for another reason. Immigrant women have babies too. They can't be both looking after their own children and looking after other people's simultaneously. Expensive childcare doesn't seem like the kind of problem you can permanently fix by just allowing tons of immigration from third world countries.

I guess you’d be surprised by reality buddy, because that’s exactly how my nanny did it when I grew up...she took care of her two kids and me at the same time...it’s like people who have three kids, totally possible and being done everywhere.

Sure, but we're not talking about an additional place here or there. When people say childcare they tend to mean professional daycare, no? That's very much people bottlenecked. But if immigrants are more fertile than the locals, which they usually are at least for a while, then if the Economist was right about immigrants being well employed in construction jobs and hairdressers such, you'd expect an sudden influx to put more pressure on childcare, not less.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#53
post #3

>"A world of free movement would be $78 trillion richer" ...A world where everyone's mother is a prostitute would be considerably more economically active. Its a shame the economy is seen as a end rather than a means.

A world where we printed $78 trillion dollars and gave it out to whomever would also be $78 trillion dollars richer.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#55
post #12

This an interesting article because it reframes current immigration discussions from humanitarian issues to economic ones. I'd like to see more modelling on wage depression to see why this wouldn't have a widespread negative impact. Additionally this seems like a weird point: >Unskilled migrants care for babies or the elderly, thus freeing the native-born to do more lucrative work. If lucrative work were available, w…

Once there was a time in Europe when every fief couldn't be more happy to get more subjects for free, and the usual travel restriction was on leaving your place, not moving to a new one.

It was the first world war that changed everything.

Things like migration control, passports, visas, formal institute of citizenship, all traces to the time when the imaginary no. 1 boogyman was not Ben Laden and "angry Arab guys," but the German Kaiser and "angry Prussian guys"

The system of rigid citizenship, closed by default borders, and enslavement to a piece of paper called passport was forced onto the world under pretext "if you would not let us do this, the scary Kaiser will be upon you"

This day, it is the permanent surveillance state being pushed into mainstream buy the very same sort of people, and it will be upon the Western countries in no time if that party will not be punched hard in the face with all resolve.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#56
post #8

$78T, or, half of one Jeff Bezos. Let's not pretend the majority of that wealth wouldn't accumulate in a small number of pockets.

I think your math is off by a few magnitudes.

Well, that still makes his math better than that of the Economist.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#57
post #12

This an interesting article because it reframes current immigration discussions from humanitarian issues to economic ones. I'd like to see more modelling on wage depression to see why this wouldn't have a widespread negative impact. Additionally this seems like a weird point: >Unskilled migrants care for babies or the elderly, thus freeing the native-born to do more lucrative work. If lucrative work were available, w…

Add 10% to the economy, let's imagine for once it's passed onto wages, also up 10%. Rents up 10%. Everyone working longer for the landlords. Gains go to land under the current system. We already added women to the workforce more, rents went up.

The proposition that all gains in productivity are absorbed by rental charges sounds completely off to me. How would that even work?

Just imagine: If housing were that great of an investment, everyone would get enough credit to build, making effectively everyone a landlord.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#58
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

people looking after their own children are: 1. providing good child care 2. adding value

> 2. Adding value Don’t you think that a PhD in their thirties would add more value if they instead focused on their studies subject?

It depends. As we know intelligence is highly heritable and an extremely large component of one's productivity, it may make more sense, in terms of having an impact, for extremely high-IQ people to focus on have a large number of children, especially considering how rare having a large number of children is among those with high IQs.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#59

One thing open borders would completely destroy would be the social safety net of many countries. Let’s say there is completely open borders between Sweden and the United States. Sweden has high taxes and an significant social safety net. The United States has low taxes and a non-existent safety net. Over time, people who pay a lot of taxes migrate from Sweden to the United States. People from the United States who a…

>People from the United States who are unable to work for whatever reason, migrate to Sweden.

I think you're overestimating the number of Americans who would have the means to do so, despite not having an income.

Re: A world of free movement would be $78T richer

#60
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lack of good child care options pulls half of all reproductive people out of the workforce.

people looking after their own children are: 1. providing good child care 2. adding value

A lot of people are terrible at looking after their own children.
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