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Immigrants have made America stronger than any other country. It has made a culture that is uniquely adaptable and universal. Let's not fuck it up.

ColdStream 2mo ago
I fear that the US is burning through the most valuable resource of them all, Trust.
- jfengel 2mo ago
  We have long since burned through Trust. We are now burning the second-most valuable resource, Inertia. It takes a long time to unwind a relationship, even when Trust is gone. In fact, the lack of Trust makes it take even longer. And a lot of people still have that third-most valuable asset (Hope) that Trust can be re-built before Inertia runs out. Which also adds to the Inertia. Still, Inertia is finite. It will take a decade or more to really use it all up, but it's going fast. And probably accelerating: once you've discovered that Inertia isn't all it's cracked up to be, you can set about finding new people to Trust, in earnest.
toomuchtodo 2mo ago
I don’t think it’s arguably good for the United States to be strong, based on all available evidence. America attracted immigrants who want a better life, and exploits most of its immigrant labor. Is it better if immigrants remain out of country while America self immolates, loses its “exorbitant privilege” of dollar reserve status, and global living standards rise from clean tech exports from China? I argue yes, they are safer outside than in. America wants immigrants as fuel for capitalism, profits for shareholders (top 10% by wealth own 93% of equities), and taxpayers to help cover $1T in annual interest expense on $40T in sovereign debt (although only the top 40% have a federal income tax liability; the bottom 60% can barely survive on their income). We also spend trillions of dollars and countless lives on meaningless conflicts, although this primarily impacts those who have unfortunately decided to participate in some capacity in the US military and adjacent civilian casualties. I am not anti immigrant. I am anti exploitation. And the United States is an exploitation machine. Stand clear as the machine starts to seize up. This is what the country voted for, after all.
- andsoitis 2mo ago
  > America attracted immigrants who want a better life, and exploits most of its immigrant labor. Can you tell us more? I ask because I’m and immigrant. I know many many immigrants. And I don’t know a single one who feels “exploited by the US”. The opposite. 20% of S&P 500 companies are run by immigrant CEOs. That number rises to 60% if you take just the top 10 companies.
  - toomuchtodo 2mo ago
    > 20% of S&P 500 companies are run by immigrant CEOs. That number rises to 60% if you take just the top 10 companies. These people are interchangeable cogs and not material to the discussion. If these 100 people were gone tomorrow, they'd be replaced by an executive search firm and every company would go on as is. As of this comment, there are approximately 200,000 to 206,000 people working as chief executive officers in formal registered corporations across the United States. Help yourself to an alternate cog, if needed, from the bin. Kaplan, Steven Neil and Sorensen, Morten, Are CEOs Different? (July 1, 2020). Columbia Business School Research Paper No. 16-27, Paris December 2016 Finance Meeting EUROFIDAI - AFFI, Journal of Finance, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2747691 https://ssrn.com/abstract=2747691 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2747691 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2747691 Study: CEO effect on firm performance could be mostly due to chance - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10441713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10441713 - October 2015 (67 comments)
    - andsoitis 2mo ago
      You claimed America exploits immigrants. I present evidence of high rate of immigrant CEOs, which contradicts your claim. I’m also telling you that I and all the other immigrants I know don’t feel exploited, but in fact the opposite. So I don’t know why you think America exploits immigrants.
      - toomuchtodo 2mo ago
        Do you believe immigrant CEOs are the same as the millions of immigrants being paid poverty wages? I’m unsure how to have a rational discussion if you believe a few hundred or so (at best) lucky folks are the same as millions who are not. Immigrant CEOs are a rounding error, they do not matter one bit in this context.

ColdStream 2mo ago

I fear that the US is burning through the most valuable resource of them all, Trust.

jfengel 2mo ago
We have long since burned through Trust. We are now burning the second-most valuable resource, Inertia. It takes a long time to unwind a relationship, even when Trust is gone. In fact, the lack of Trust makes it take even longer. And a lot of people still have that third-most valuable asset (Hope) that Trust can be re-built before Inertia runs out. Which also adds to the Inertia. Still, Inertia is finite. It will take a decade or more to really use it all up, but it's going fast. And probably accelerating: once you've discovered that Inertia isn't all it's cracked up to be, you can set about finding new people to Trust, in earnest.

toomuchtodo 2mo ago

I don’t think it’s arguably good for the United States to be strong, based on all available evidence. America attracted immigrants who want a better life, and exploits most of its immigrant labor. Is it better if immigrants remain out of country while America self immolates, loses its “exorbitant privilege” of dollar reserve status, and global living standards rise from clean tech exports from China? I argue yes, they are safer outside than in. America wants immigrants as fuel for capitalism, profits for shareholders (top 10% by wealth own 93% of equities), and taxpayers to help cover $1T in annual interest expense on $40T in sovereign debt (although only the top 40% have a federal income tax liability; the bottom 60% can barely survive on their income). We also spend trillions of dollars and countless lives on meaningless conflicts, although this primarily impacts those who have unfortunately decided to participate in some capacity in the US military and adjacent civilian casualties. I am not anti immigrant. I am anti exploitation. And the United States is an exploitation machine. Stand clear as the machine starts to seize up. This is what the country voted for, after all.

andsoitis 2mo ago
> America attracted immigrants who want a better life, and exploits most of its immigrant labor. Can you tell us more? I ask because I’m and immigrant. I know many many immigrants. And I don’t know a single one who feels “exploited by the US”. The opposite. 20% of S&P 500 companies are run by immigrant CEOs. That number rises to 60% if you take just the top 10 companies.
- toomuchtodo 2mo ago
  > 20% of S&P 500 companies are run by immigrant CEOs. That number rises to 60% if you take just the top 10 companies. These people are interchangeable cogs and not material to the discussion. If these 100 people were gone tomorrow, they'd be replaced by an executive search firm and every company would go on as is. As of this comment, there are approximately 200,000 to 206,000 people working as chief executive officers in formal registered corporations across the United States. Help yourself to an alternate cog, if needed, from the bin. Kaplan, Steven Neil and Sorensen, Morten, Are CEOs Different? (July 1, 2020). Columbia Business School Research Paper No. 16-27, Paris December 2016 Finance Meeting EUROFIDAI - AFFI, Journal of Finance, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2747691 https://ssrn.com/abstract=2747691 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2747691 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2747691 Study: CEO effect on firm performance could be mostly due to chance - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10441713 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10441713 - October 2015 (67 comments)
  - andsoitis 2mo ago
    You claimed America exploits immigrants. I present evidence of high rate of immigrant CEOs, which contradicts your claim. I’m also telling you that I and all the other immigrants I know don’t feel exploited, but in fact the opposite. So I don’t know why you think America exploits immigrants.
    - toomuchtodo 2mo ago
      Do you believe immigrant CEOs are the same as the millions of immigrants being paid poverty wages? I’m unsure how to have a rational discussion if you believe a few hundred or so (at best) lucky folks are the same as millions who are not. Immigrant CEOs are a rounding error, they do not matter one bit in this context.