The single greatest advantage the United States has over China is that high-skilled immigrants would much rather move here.
Imagine if we reformed our immigration system to actually let them…
The chart above comes from a tremendous recent paper by @r_zwetsloot.
As a matter of national security, US policymakers should implement the policies below to maintain our talent lead over China.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/winning-tech-talent-competition
Originally tweeted by Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp) on March 14, 2022.
A number of immigrants offer their own experiences in that thread to explain why some people still want to come to the US:
I landed in the United States 10 years ago with nothing but credit card debt.
After one startup exit, one big tech job, and one unicorn, I genuinely believe that it wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else in the world.
Here are 10 things I love about this country:
1. Work Ethic
First thing I noticed was that everyone regardless of occupation took pride in doing a bang-up job, even when no one looked.
I asked people: “why do you pour everything into a job even when it is seemingly thankless?” And it was like asking fish “what is water?”
2. Lack of corruption
In the 10 years in the US, I’ve never been asked for a bribe, and that’s surprising.
When you know that you predictably get to keep a sizeable portion of the value you create and that no one will arbitrarily stop you, it makes it easier to be ambitious.
3. Win-win mindset
People don’t try to screw you on deals, they play the long game, and align incentives in such a way that everyone wins.
This is especially apparent in Silicon Valley where you can’t underestimate anyone because one day you might be working for them.
4. Rewarding talent
From sports to engineering, America is obsessed with properly rewarding talent. If you’re good, you’ll get recognized.
The market for talent is dynamic — if you don’t feel valued today, you can find a better place tomorrow.
5. Open to weirdos
Because you never know where the next tech, sports, or arts innovation will come from, America had to be open to weirdness. Weirdos thrive without being crushed.
We employ people with the most interesting backgrounds — dropouts to artists — they’re awesome!
6. Forgiveness
Weird and innovative people have to put themselves out there, and as part of that, they’re going to make mistakes in public. The culture here values authenticity, and if you’re authentic and open about your failures, you’ll get a second and a third chance.
7. Basic infrastructure
Americans take care of their public spaces. Parks are clean, subways and busses run on time, and utilities & services just work.
Because life can be livable for a time without income, it was possible for us to quit our jobs and bootstrap our business.
8. Optimism
When you step foot in the US there is a palpable sense of optimism. People believe that tomorrow will be better than today. They don’t know where progress will come from, but that’s why they’re open to differences.
When we started up even unbelievers encouraged us.
9. Freedom
Clearly a cliche, but it’s totally true. None of the above works if you’re not free to explore & tinker, to build companies, and to move freely.
I still find it amazing that if I respect the law and others, I can do whatever I want without being compelled/restricted.
10. Access to capital
It’s a lot harder to innovate & try to change the world without capital. If you have a good idea & track record, then someone will be willing to bet on you.
The respect for entrepreneurship in this country is inspiring. And it makes the whole thing tick.
Because of the character limit, I couldn’t caveat the generalities that I made. It’s hard to talk about an entire nation without making those. And my experience can be very different from yours. Also, we can do a lot better, and make sure everyone has equal access to opportunity.
Finally, many of the things that I talked about are under threat, largely from people who don’t know how special they have it. America is worth protecting, and realizing that progress can be made without destroying the things that made it special.
Originally tweeted by Amjad Masad
Does that sound like the country you know? Here are a few more:
My reasons:
1. Decentralized economy allows anyone to grow without prior connections
2. With time you can become an American beyond citizenship as the country is an idea not an ethnicity
3. Quality of life
4. Size of the market / diversity of opportunities
Originally tweeted by Jorge Garcia (@jagbolanos) on March 14, 2022.
For me:
1) freedom of choice (freedom it’s literally in the constitution).
2) access to high quality education,(used to be relevant when I moved here)
3) America can be a bit more playful than the rest of the world. (C.f. freedom)
4) opportunity to work.
Originally tweeted by Rationalyst (@rationalyst) on March 14, 2022.
I like america because there are lesser social constraints that seem arbitrary
Originally tweeted by Rahul Goel 👹 (@rahulxgoel) on March 14, 2022.
Path to citizenship. People leave lot of money on the table by not working in Middle East and instead immigrating to CAN/UK/AU because they can eventually get citizenship.
Originally tweeted by Kaam Raj (@KaamRaj1) on March 14, 2022.
Bill of Rights!
Originally tweeted by kanwardhaliwal (@kdhaliwal) on March 15, 2022.
Comparatively better chances to grow as big as you want/better work culture, comparatively better treatment of women and social security and “The American dreams” are the reasons people move to the US from India.
Originally tweeted by Dr. Darmina Jivani(patel) (@Darmina_Jivani) on March 14, 2022.
If you’re an ambitious kid anywhere in the world, you want to move to the USA. Even the ambitious Scandinavians want to work in the USA. I’ve never heard anyone talking about their Chinese dream. Chinese want to move to the USA, not vice versa. That’s America’s true superpower.
Originally tweeted by Pushkar Singh (@pushkar_g_singh) on March 14, 2022.
There are plenty of people who would like to come here to escape persecution and poverty in their own countries as well and they contribute as well. In fact, they have been the backbone of America from the beginning. But attracting high skilled, highly educated immigrants has been key to our economic success and we should be making it easier not more difficult for them to come here. We need them.