Is it much easier in the EU? For example, can I go to Switzerland or France and easily get permanent residency?
Switzerland is not a part of the EU.
Alright what about France and Germany?
I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
181–190 of 615 posts
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a major problem for Scandinavian countries right now, if you read the local news, its a big problem that many immigrants have a higher and satisfactory conditions of living on welfare compared to where they were from. They have little incentive to work when they are provided what they consider a high standard of living with no effort. It's caused quite a bit of backlash and "racism" in their otherwise progressiv…
basic income, basic income, basic income. In the US there are a lot of cliffs in the support system. make over 10k? ok, you get nothing for support. This creates a terrible effect where people are unwilling to even try. I think the key is picking a bare minimum standard, and any work beyond that is better. People need the incentive. Maybe it's just to buy booze, who cares? Working 5 hours a week must be better than a…
I'll support my taxes being raised to pay for more wage subsidy for the working poor.
I won't support my taxes going up in order to let people stay home and not work. I wouldn't even pay for that for my own kids, I'm surely not going to do it for some stranger's kids.
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#183It would actually be a great experiment to create a new libertarian nation which could let in everybody who is willing to contribute (work/business experience/bank account statement as proof) and see how that turns out. Something like a new US/Singapore started from a fresh slate.
Where?
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#184The US legal immigration system is perfectly described by the adjective, Kafkaesque. In terms of the arbitrariness of bureaucracy, it has more in common with what I saw in the socialist days of India and what one reads in books by Solzhenitsyn and Kafka. The iniquities have been discussed repeatedly in popular press, with almost no changes wrought in the process. Many years ago (yes, 2011 was 4 years ago) Newsweek ra…
Which country recognizes a universal right to naturalize as a citizen of that country?
Svalbard, effectively.
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
Moral imperatives do not always correlate with survival imperatives. I'm not going to say whether or not I believe in immigration, but there are two things I will say: 1. Arguments against immigration stem not from moral imperatives, but from survival instinct. 2. If we open up immigration, America as we know it will change dramatically, in either a good or bad way. I think what we have now is already pretty good, so…
Firstly, America as we know it has been changing dramatically and continuously since its inception. I don't see anyone mourning the loss of the Bourbon Democrats or tariff acts, but suffice to say they aren't here anymore. Secondly, what are you referring to by "what we have now"? Immigration law in particular, or U.S. policy on a macro level?
Whatever "what we have now" is, it is good, by assumption, because people are trying to get into it.
Therefore it's worth asking if that "whatever it is" will remain good in the face of any proposed changes.
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#186Earlier quoted context omitted.
Opening borders works for multicultural countries built on immigration. For countries that are based on a unique language, ethnicity and culture, it is damaging.
He's referring to america... and I have to disagree. What's so important about an ethnicity that it has to be kept at all costs? Culture is probably worth preserving, but often culture is simply "the way it's always been" -- I'd argue the opposite, bringing different cultures together, if done right, will promote creating new culture that make more sense for today's reality, and not some 19th century status quo. Crea…
Chesterson's fence.
There is something about the US that makes it desirable for people to move to the US. When proposing changes to the US, you need to wonder about that that thing is, so you can figure out if/how it will be changed by your new policy.
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Economically, most immigrants are willing to work hard. `Hard' as in `cheaper' ?
'cheaper' is a comparison. 'hard' is not. I don't think anyone wants salaries to go into free-fall but that's not a necessary result of easing immigration.
Isn't it? By definition wouldn't an increase in supply of talent for a given job decrease market wage for that talent unless it was already in a shortage (which we never really know until it's over)?
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#188Honest question: If the author "had come to America to attend Yale." didn't they also research the requirements for citizenship or an extended stay? Did they decide the benefits outweigh the cons or did they just "hope" things would work out? Maybe they made the decision after attending Yale - was this decision not well informed? I think criticism of the immigration system is warranted and valid, just that potential…
I have friends from Europe who went to graduate school in the USA. They had to go back to Europe after a decade in school here because they didn't get jobs. They had another friend who was in a similar situation. They knew is was hard for international students to manage to get hired in my field but, like all of us, thought they would beat the odds. They didn't and now have had to rebuild their lives back in their home country.
Even when we know the odds are against us we want to think we will be special and make it even if we know it isn't realistic.
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#189It would actually be a great experiment to create a new libertarian nation which could let in everybody who is willing to contribute (work/business experience/bank account statement as proof) and see how that turns out. Something like a new US/Singapore started from a fresh slate.
Honduras tried (is trying?) a libertarian city in special development regions. The article I remember reading is actually from December 2011; I didn't think it was that long ago and I haven't read anything new. Here's the article that might be a good starting point for you though:
http://www.economist.com/node/21541391
And here's an article on seasteading (basically huge platforms/ships that sit in international waters) from around the same time:
Re: I spent the last 15 years trying to become an American and failed
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
The debate the politicians in my state (Schleswig-Holstein, a state in Germany) had about this was really interesting, sadly it’s in German. Essentially, it boils down to two issues: Morally, we all are descendants of immigrants, or at least most. Economically, most immigrants are willing to work hard. Combined with the fact that our society has a birth rate below replacement rate (1.3 vs. 2.1) we need immigrants jus…
> Economically, most immigrants are willing to work hard. `Hard' as in `cheaper' ?
Yes. They make for nice replacement for "demanding" local workers.