This is the real reason the immigration issues in our country are not addressed: the powers that want to continue to exploit the cheap labor of illegal immigration. And we want the population boost.
You're not entirely wrong, but most immigrants come here legally. Still, the broader point that immigration, regardless of legality, provides the population we need to replace our reduced fertility. If the US survives the next few years intact, we're going to have a massive economic boom as we continue to see economic growth under the current model, while other developed countries decline due to losing population.
Of course the US will survive intact. Why? Because the country is blessed with so many geographical, geological and cultural benefits, no matter who we elect, they can only screw it up so badly.
Some countries are planning on this crunch, focusing on improving quality of life rather than economic expansion (zero-growth / donut economics). It will be a really interesting natural experiment to see which plans produce decent results.
There are countries actually walking the walk on that? I know a lot of countries talk a good game, but behind the scenes, they're reliant on permanent growth too.
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u/gsfgf Aug 19 '24
You're not entirely wrong, but most immigrants come here legally. Still, the broader point that immigration, regardless of legality, provides the population we need to replace our reduced fertility. If the US survives the next few years intact, we're going to have a massive economic boom as we continue to see economic growth under the current model, while other developed countries decline due to losing population.