4 ms·

Unless a lot of areas become a lot more hospitable to immigrants, it is very unlikely that they will become the next Silicon Valley —- or next anything really.

Unless a lot of areas become a lot more hospitable to immigrants, it is very unlikely that they will become the next Silicon Valley —- or next anything really. When you look at places like Ohio, for instance, that have been stagnating for decades, a huge reason for it is that the population of Ohio was once representative of the country and has increasingly become older and whiter than the general U.S. population. This is because very few people are moving to Ohio — immigrants and others from other parts of the country. Ohio has one of the highest rates of residents born in the state, which is a recipe for stagnation. Say what you will about Silicon Valley, but it has long been a place where dreamers and immigrants could mix. Heartland cities and states that embrace immigration and net inflows of residents could very well become the next something. But that has to come first.

la64710 4y ago
FTA : I believe that if America loses its way and ceases to be the most innovative, entrepreneurial nation in the world, the most likely cause will be not having an immigration policy that is as welcoming to people as it has been for the past couple of centuries.
- AlgorithmicTime 4y ago
  I doubt it. Look at the period from 1920-1960. Extremely entrepreneurial, extremely innovative, and tight immigration controls. The talent is largely already here.
  - juve1996 4y ago
    Considering many of that period were born from immigrants it's hard to make that argument. It isn't black and white.
  - colinmhayes 4y ago
    Children of immigrants are the real difference makers. They natively speak the language and understand the culture but also have the "immigrant" mentality instilled in them by their parents.
- honkdaddy 4y ago
  The periods where America was most globally dominant were not the periods where it’s immigration policy was most lax, if anything, the opposite is true.
  - nathanaldensr 4y ago
    Exactly. These young people have no idea what they are talking about and don't know American history at all, except what they've been propagandized to think. Immigration policy used to be very locked down, and now we have foreign agents encouraging our government to let them flood in unchecked.
prottog 4y ago
As an immigrant who has been all around this country, I don't think it's the lack of hospitality to immigrants that keeps them away from places like Ohio. Immigrants don't go there for the same reason native-born Americans aren't moving there (and in fact, Ohio is a net exporter of domestic migration) -- it's perceived as not having economic opportunities. Your cause and effect seems reversed; that is, Ohio is older and whiter because people have been moving out, and not that people are avoiding Ohio because it is older and whiter.
enoughalready 4y ago
What data are you referencing? According to US Census Bureau, the diversity index in Ohio is up ~6%. Diversity Index (61.1%, up from 54.9%). Race and ethnicity (White alone 61.6%; Black alone 12.4%; Hispanic 18.7%; Asian alone 6%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone 1.1%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0.2%; Some Other Race alone 8.4%; Two or More Races 10.2%).
qwerpy 4y ago
Born and raised in Ohio, not even in one of the 3 big cities. Child of a non-white immigrant. Grew up being friends with many other children of immigrants who have willingly stayed there. I left because the good tech jobs were on the west coast, not because I felt unwelcome. With crime and homelessness disproportionately increasing in the major coastal cities, I'd seriously consider a move back to the midwest at this point. I think this whole west coast trope of the midwest being a bunch of insular unwelcoming old white people is overblown.
- pwthornton 4y ago
  Well, I am a white guy from the Cleveland area. I do have a good sense of what northeast Ohio is like. I haven't lived there in 15 years, but I do visit several times a year. The amount of negative change in Ohio in that time is staggering. Columbus and a few other parts of the state may be doing well, but much of the state is in decay. I don't think Ohio is unwelcoming from a people perspective, although around where I grew up is MAGA central, so I am not sure that it is super welcoming to immigrants or people who aren't white and straight. The people are generally friendly when they know you. The politicians, however, are fairly insane, and since I left the state, they have allowed guns in preschools, outlawed abortion, blocked intracity rail to connect to their major cities (and don't invest in infrastructure beyond sprawl), have continued to hollow out their cities for almost exclusively sprawl building, etc. There is very little emphasis from Ohio policymakers on creating policy and infrastructure to attract people. One big area that Ohio has cut in recent decades is higher education funding. What is a great way to attract immigrants and startups? Higher education spending. Research universities, in particular, foster and help create startups. This is one of California's secrets. An elite state research university in or near Cleveland would probably be a much better way to invest in the state than what policymakers have been doing. In short, the people of Ohio are generally friendly if they know you, but the state isn't doing anything to attract immigrants or people from other parts of the country.

la64710 4y ago

FTA : I believe that if America loses its way and ceases to be the most innovative, entrepreneurial nation in the world, the most likely cause will be not having an immigration policy that is as welcoming to people as it has been for the past couple of centuries.

AlgorithmicTime 4y ago
I doubt it. Look at the period from 1920-1960. Extremely entrepreneurial, extremely innovative, and tight immigration controls. The talent is largely already here.
- juve1996 4y ago
  Considering many of that period were born from immigrants it's hard to make that argument. It isn't black and white.
- colinmhayes 4y ago
  Children of immigrants are the real difference makers. They natively speak the language and understand the culture but also have the "immigrant" mentality instilled in them by their parents.
honkdaddy 4y ago
The periods where America was most globally dominant were not the periods where it’s immigration policy was most lax, if anything, the opposite is true.
- nathanaldensr 4y ago
  Exactly. These young people have no idea what they are talking about and don't know American history at all, except what they've been propagandized to think. Immigration policy used to be very locked down, and now we have foreign agents encouraging our government to let them flood in unchecked.

prottog 4y ago

As an immigrant who has been all around this country, I don't think it's the lack of hospitality to immigrants that keeps them away from places like Ohio. Immigrants don't go there for the same reason native-born Americans aren't moving there (and in fact, Ohio is a net exporter of domestic migration) -- it's perceived as not having economic opportunities. Your cause and effect seems reversed; that is, Ohio is older and whiter because people have been moving out, and not that people are avoiding Ohio because it is older and whiter.

enoughalready 4y ago

What data are you referencing? According to US Census Bureau, the diversity index in Ohio is up ~6%. Diversity Index (61.1%, up from 54.9%). Race and ethnicity (White alone 61.6%; Black alone 12.4%; Hispanic 18.7%; Asian alone 6%; American Indian and Alaska Native alone 1.1%; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone 0.2%; Some Other Race alone 8.4%; Two or More Races 10.2%).

qwerpy 4y ago

Born and raised in Ohio, not even in one of the 3 big cities. Child of a non-white immigrant. Grew up being friends with many other children of immigrants who have willingly stayed there. I left because the good tech jobs were on the west coast, not because I felt unwelcome. With crime and homelessness disproportionately increasing in the major coastal cities, I'd seriously consider a move back to the midwest at this point. I think this whole west coast trope of the midwest being a bunch of insular unwelcoming old white people is overblown.

pwthornton 4y ago
Well, I am a white guy from the Cleveland area. I do have a good sense of what northeast Ohio is like. I haven't lived there in 15 years, but I do visit several times a year. The amount of negative change in Ohio in that time is staggering. Columbus and a few other parts of the state may be doing well, but much of the state is in decay. I don't think Ohio is unwelcoming from a people perspective, although around where I grew up is MAGA central, so I am not sure that it is super welcoming to immigrants or people who aren't white and straight. The people are generally friendly when they know you. The politicians, however, are fairly insane, and since I left the state, they have allowed guns in preschools, outlawed abortion, blocked intracity rail to connect to their major cities (and don't invest in infrastructure beyond sprawl), have continued to hollow out their cities for almost exclusively sprawl building, etc. There is very little emphasis from Ohio policymakers on creating policy and infrastructure to attract people. One big area that Ohio has cut in recent decades is higher education funding. What is a great way to attract immigrants and startups? Higher education spending. Research universities, in particular, foster and help create startups. This is one of California's secrets. An elite state research university in or near Cleveland would probably be a much better way to invest in the state than what policymakers have been doing. In short, the people of Ohio are generally friendly if they know you, but the state isn't doing anything to attract immigrants or people from other parts of the country.