4 ms·

> You're engaging in a variant of the "lump of labor" fallacy. No, I am not. You are missing the entire point. Nearly every article or mention of immigration

> You're engaging in a variant of the "lump of labor" fallacy. No, I am not. You are missing the entire point. Nearly every article or mention of immigration includes some variant of the equivalent to (paraphrasing): "Without immigrants our entrepreneurship suffers greatly". I reject this with passion. We have amazing people already in the country, both native and existing legal immigrants. If we closed all immigration today (not proposing this is a good idea) we would have no problem at all maintaining a rate of innovation that challenges most other nations. We have excellent people already in the country. We don't need to use this lie to justify the need for immigration. There are a number of very compelling and valid reasons for which immigration is important and should be encouraged. The above-paraphrased fear-mongering claim isn't one of them.

greglindahl 10y ago
I am not missing the point. I have worked with many amazing people, the more the better. Some are immigrants. Clearly, the total number of amazing people in the US is going to decline if we are unfriendly to immigrants. I want the best country, so I want immigrants. Sorry that this argument doesn't work for you. But yes, you are engaging in a variant of the "lump of labor" fallacy: the more great people we have, the more innovation we will have.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  Hmm. Not sure how many different ways to say it. I've been very clear. This isn't about not wanting immigrants. This is about not creating false reasons for which we claim immigration is necessary or important. That's it. Simple as that. > the more great people we have, the more innovation we will have Absolutely, positively, unequivocally false. Innovation is NOT a function of quantity. General Motors has over 200,000 employees. Tesla had about 900 employees in 2010. They innovated the shit out of a market dominated by giants. And that's the story of every single small team that has disrupted market segments. Read "The Innovator's Dilemma". More people does not mean more innovation. This is demonstrably false across a wide range of industries. We do not need to import people to innovate and foster entrepreneurial drive. We have enough smart people already on board.

greglindahl 10y ago

I am not missing the point. I have worked with many amazing people, the more the better. Some are immigrants. Clearly, the total number of amazing people in the US is going to decline if we are unfriendly to immigrants. I want the best country, so I want immigrants. Sorry that this argument doesn't work for you. But yes, you are engaging in a variant of the "lump of labor" fallacy: the more great people we have, the more innovation we will have.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
Hmm. Not sure how many different ways to say it. I've been very clear. This isn't about not wanting immigrants. This is about not creating false reasons for which we claim immigration is necessary or important. That's it. Simple as that. > the more great people we have, the more innovation we will have Absolutely, positively, unequivocally false. Innovation is NOT a function of quantity. General Motors has over 200,000 employees. Tesla had about 900 employees in 2010. They innovated the shit out of a market dominated by giants. And that's the story of every single small team that has disrupted market segments. Read "The Innovator's Dilemma". More people does not mean more innovation. This is demonstrably false across a wide range of industries. We do not need to import people to innovate and foster entrepreneurial drive. We have enough smart people already on board.