Friedberg’s Immigration Test: Workers vs Welfare

I'm all about discerning immigration, not on the lines of some cultural definition, but really around that simple framing of are you going to get social support services or are you going to work? Going back to my makers versus takers point, if the primary motivation for an individual to come to this country is to be given benefits, to be given payments, to be given social services, to be given support, I think that that person should be denied immigration. If the primary motivation for the individual to come to the United States is to work to progress themselves, to become a maker, to create things, to work in such a way that they

can generate income, save capital, buy things, advance their family's position because they are denied those rights due to the tyranny of the place that they're coming from, then they should be granted immigration status to come to this country and contribute. Because at the end of the day, what people may not like to hear, which is the truth, is that every single one of those people is actually net positive in growing our economy. And everyone thinks it's a zero- sum game with respect to jobs in the United States. And we shouldn't let people into this country that create jobs. But the fundamental truth is that anyone that is productive, meaning they

create more value than they take in, grows the economy and more jobs get created. And overall, we all benefit from having those individuals here in this country. And by the way, if you are going to work, you are going to culturally assimilate because that is what the United States is based on, which is productivity. Work hard, create things, and have individual agency. Have the ability to progress yourself in this world, in this society. And if you take advantage of that opportunity, you're going to love the American ideals that this country was founded upon.