Editor’s Note: Welcome to new subscribers. Day 135 of the Great Con II. This week saw an episode of the tiger turning to bite the rider. The Epstein drama won’t go away after this administration used it for years to foment anger and conspiracy. We’ve got bigger things to worry about, but when the zombies begin to bite themselves, that’s a good thing. After the flooding tragedy in Texas, the administration quietly scaled back plans to gut FEMA. And the first rural healthcare network notified communities of its intention to close some hospitals after the big beautiful bill passage.
I’m feeling great already.
There is research that indicates if you repeat a lie or insinuation over and over, no matter how false it is, it will eventually gain following through a phenomenon called the “illusory truth effect”.
That is what I believe has occurred with one of the most fake issues of our times.
Immigration.
For the past several years, a concerted effort has been made to portray immigration as a crisis. This is the latest in a long line of human history, where demagogues grasp a problem (war, disease, natural disaster, or sin) and then provide a ready-made cause for it, rather than the actual source.
In the modern case of America, it is immigrants who are being asked to bear this burden. Before them, it was blacks, and before that, it was women, or witches. There’s always someone to scapegoat or blame if you have willing listeners.
Despite this, the United States is still the master act in attracting and absorbing the world’s best and brightest. We’ve got something special that most Americans don’t comprehend. Every year, millions of people from around the globe dream of coming to America. They go through the act of uprooting their entire existence for a hoped-for better beginning.
This has always been a good thing.
Immigrants make up nearly 19 percent of the American workforce, but their impact is even greater in the sectors that define the future. They account for 22.2 percent of entrepreneurs, 22.8 percent of STEM workers, and 15.2 percent of nurses. In 2022, immigrants generated $1.6 trillion in economic activity and paid more than $579 billion in taxes. These are not statistics of dependency or crime; they are metrics of progress.
And here’s something interesting.
High-skilled immigrants don’t just bring new ideas; they help their American colleagues innovate, collaborate, and compete globally. Look at Google’s Sergey Brin, born in Moscow; Yahoo’s Jerry Yang, born in Taiwan; and PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, born in India. These are not isolated cases. One in four entrepreneurs in the U.S. is an immigrant.
Immigrants also rebuild communities. If you’ve driven anywhere in the South, you will see old towns hollowed out and forgotten by economic changes. Immigrants move in, buy homes, start businesses, grow families, and revitalize neighborhoods that would have sat dormant. In 2022, immigrant households paid nearly one in every six tax dollars collected by federal, state, and local governments, funding everything from public schools to healthcare.
Let’s consider the demonization of undocumented immigrants. In 2023, they paid $89.8 billion in taxes and held $299 billion in spending power, helping to keep social services like Social Security and Medicare solvent. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that increased immigration could actually reduce the federal budget deficit by nearly $900 billion over the next decade. The logical inverse is that decreasing immigration will explode it.
These are not the actions of people coming to the country to freeload. They are looking for work and shoring up the American safety net in the process.
Immigrants don’t steal jobs. They create them. They work jobs that a majority of us don’t want. They pay into our collective programs, such as Social Security, with no guarantee of getting it back.
As written about by Scott Galloway, the Cato Institute estimates that a drop in immigration coupled with deportation could exceed $1 trillion in costs to our economic system. He calls this policy of “hurting others while hurting yourself” stupid.
And that’s what this is: a purposeful and idiotic method of stoking fear, controlling thought, and ultimately making us poor and pissed off.
The real problem is wealth inequality. It’s not immigration.
Let’s not be stupid about this. Having access to healthcare, better-paying jobs, and vibrant communities will not change one bit from this war on immigration.
To make matters worse, we’re giving up our decency and world standing in the process.
It reminds me of a famous scripture:
"You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.
CURIOUS CLICKS THAT MADE ME THINK
Speaking of embarrassments, never forget this one.
One of my long-time friends and colleagues passed away a few years ago, but not before she sent me this. There’s a lot of truth in his message.
I recently saw a former student’s picture with her young child happily reading and surrounded by books. It made me think of this.
If you knew your chance of dying early was increased by 50%, would you want to know?
These siblings have a rare mutation that makes them prone to Alzheimer's, and thanks to their courage and the work of public researchers, universities, and pharmaceutical companies, they are fighting to live longer. In the process, they will be helping more than just themselves. The research will benefit anyone affected by Alzheimer's, potentially leading to methods that detect and prevent the disease early. This is remarkable work, and it makes me proud of the American institutions, some of them government, involved in finding a solution.
We are dealing with so much empty air in our leadership that I want to remind you of a few things. The concept of being woke and too much DEI is made up. The amount of time and energy we are putting into fending off pure hateful and divisive rhetoric is a waste, but it must be done.
This is an English professor who has been at it for decades, using Milton’s famous work in a course. At the university level, I can hardly think of any piece of literature that can’t be considered for study. The whole purpose of education is to expand your mind, to challenge preconceived notions, and prepare yourself to be a citizen in a broad and diverse world. There’s nothing to fear here, though fear is the weapon being used.
I wish these people would quit giving in. At some point, we will reach the tipping point where enough professionals at all levels will start pushing back. Until we get to that McCarthy moment, stay the course and keep educating, reading, learning, talking, and advocating. The voices on the other side are not the voices of reason or freedom.
I ate a lot of borscht when I was in Russia. I grew to like it with a big dollop of sour cream and a clump of bread. Something about this piece I just loved: the joy of cooking, being part of something bigger, finding your place, and living with your passion. It’s all here, even in the most disturbing of situations. There’s so much detail we miss in the news, especially these behind-the-scenes support personnel who keep an army going.
What the Ukrainians have done is a David and Goliath story. They have accomplished what no one expected and stood up to a brutal invasion, at great personal loss. Take time to read and admire those who do everything they can to live free. Enjoy your next meal with them in mind. Eating is often a quick, casual act in our culture, but it’s full of spirituality. A passing of care and consideration from one hand to another. We must nourish ourselves, and in the process, there’s a bit of nourishing of the soul as well.
And Now…
Do the best you can to keep your thoughts, intellect, faith, and actions aligned. Our responsibility is always to pass things on better than we found them.