The U.S economy needs immigrants to compete against China

Robert Kaplan, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, stated that the U.S. needs immigrants to remain competitive and to stay ahead of china. He believes that immigration has been good for the U.S. In his opinion, allowing immigration makes America different from countries such as China and Japan, and, therefore, the American society must preserve those values. He believes that, with immigration, the US can increase its workforce and improve its economic growth. A younger population helps the economy remain competitive.

China has an aging problem

The most populated country on the planet is aging, presenting new challenges. China has to increase its birth rate but it could take 20 years or even 25 years to see an impact. There were many demographic policies in the past that made people have fewer children and it has created a lot of distortions. On the other hand, America has had high levels of immigration and this helped the economy remain competitive.

The age structure

When compared to Japan and Germany, America has more children than old people. In Germany, the people of advanced age are close to 22 percent while children are less than 13 percent. Therefore, there are about 60 children per every 100 old people.

In Japan, the situation is even worse. There are fewer than 50 children per every 100 old people. This will create a population composed of retirees in the next few years. The economy therefore needs young workers to support those retirees. China could face a demographic future similar to Japan.

Immigrants are competitive

There are millions of immigrants working in America.

They also pay taxes and add value to the American economy. There are places like Silicon Valley that depend on skilled foreign workers. The market economy isn't interested in the nationality of people. It is interested in their skills. Immigrants are twice more interested in creating a business than the local population, and they contribute to almost $1 trillion of the American economy.

Immigrants have created reputed companies

Google, DuPont, eBay, Tesla and more companies were created by immigrants. These companies have strong market capitalizations. They innovate and create jobs for the U.S citizens and as well as for immigrants. The information technology, the car industry, the online trade and other areas of the American life have improved because of immigrants.