Thank you kingpins for your post.Here is my commentary:.(a) The...

Thank you kingpins for your post.

Here is my commentary:.

(a) The shining business light in the USA since the formation of the
rust belt(causd initially by cheap Jap imports in the 1970s ....I was there at the time)
is the Dot Coms and the top end of those is staffed predominantly by skilled immigrants.
(b) the core of our current immigrants is highly skilled workers & foreign students who
have taken up the option of residency/citizenship post graduation
(sure there are a few who rorted the system and are now working for minmum
wages driving Ubers or washing dishes etc etc. This is an administrative issue
and not something to throw out the baby with the dishwater)

(c) IMO the Government has a population growth plan of which immigation is a subset.
With wars in Africa & the ME, the flow of refugees & compassionate family reunions
have diluted the skilled immigrant %age of the total, but again, not enough to
"throw out the baby with the bathwater"

(d) We have an increasing ageing population as a %age of the total population, so
we either have to cut back on aged benefits or grow the tax base and IMO the latter
is the better option.

(e) While we were running the White Australia Policy between 1900 & the end of WW2
our population growth stagnated while a comparable country such as Canada increased
via its immigration program; so much so Canada has nearly 38 million people (12 million more than
Aus) and its in the G7 while our hopes of hitting the G7 in the foreseeable future is slim.

In summary kingpins, not much has changed historically with respect to populaation growth;
just the tools we use and the scope of our global trade..

IMO if we, like Canada, had 38 million people we too would have a GDP equivalent
to Canada and we too would be in the G7.

Instead we try to strut the Golbal stage "punching above our weight" without the lollies
to show for it.

PS: Re the influx of M/E immigrants:
IMO participating in overseas wars is a package deal:
-contributing to war damage post the war
-taking immigrants; particuluarly those who backed us during the war and who were/are likely to be killed or vctimised
due to assisting our troops and or the regime we were there to install.

We had he same issue with Vietnamese refugees post the loss of the Vietnam War & see how they have
not contributed to the Australian economy & culture.

Of course racism/xenophobia is a different kettle of fish and ought not be
smuggled into rational economic debate, IMO.