Cato on Immigration and Open Borders (updated 3aug18)

If Democrats don't want foreigners involved in our elections, why do they think it's OK for illegals to vote?

George Rebane

The Cato Institute is the nation’s foremost libertarian thinktank.  It has a long record of publishing well thought out and researched policy analyses which it freely makes available on its website.  I have now and again cited their research, and even a few of their opinion commentaries, although I don’t always agree with all their libertarian viewpoints – that is why I call myself a conservetarian.

Yesterday (31jul18) Dr Jeffrey Miron, Cato’s Director of Economic Studies and director of undergraduate economics studies at Harvard, published a commentary in USA Today titled ‘Forget the Wall Already, It’s Time for the U.S. to Have Open Borders’.  In it he argues that the US should open its borders to allow free ingress and egress to one and all with no interference or mediating actions by our government.  When I read Miron’s piece I was shocked at what appears to be an insane policy proposal by an organization which the Rebanes have supported for years.  I still don’t know whether this is Miron opining on his own, or announcing Cato’s considered policy on borders and immigration.

The main takeaway from my now several readings are that his proposed policy will end America as we know it in literally all dimensions. Open borders will do away with the sovereign nation-state, the first attribute of which is that it controls transit across its borders, and what goes on within those borders.  This is the fundamental tenet of the Westphalian order under which the international order has been conducted since 1648.

The United States, and any country for that matter, with such open borders will quickly experience the full brunt of the tragedy of the commons (cf Garrett Hardin) as people across the globe make their way into America in the attempt to enjoy our economy, freedoms, and social welfare programs.  The duration of such happy times will end very quickly as Americans of all political hues realize what a tragic mistake we have made as the country’s institutions begin to collapse.  (more here and here)

And such migrations will be doubly disastrous if the borderless world envisioned by Miron comes to pass.  Miron promotes global government with central planning and control taken to the limit.  And he naively asks us to believe that massive cross cultural human movements will not immediately require draconian control measures put in force to stop lawlessness and riots on a scale never before witnessed on this planet.  Miron is unaware that for good reason nature abhors monolithic structures of control and repositories of data/knowledge.  What the man advocates across the world is nothing less than the end of civilizations with a Mad Max world contending with Big Brother trying to maintain control.

I annotated Professor Miron’s commentary.  You can download the annotated pdf file and read it in your Acrobat reader if you wish.  Download Forget the Wall Already - GJR

[3aug18 update]  Here It’s again worth pointing out that the Right believes America to be exceptional because of the system of governance and commerce our Founders bequeathed us.  The Left continues to tell us that America is not exceptional, it is evil, and that our system must be changed.  Now the rest of the world, especially those who vote with their feet, fervently believe that America is indeed most exceptional since they are willing to leave everything and risk everything to enter our land by hook or crook.  So here’s the ongoing contradiction that the Left and the so-called centrists ignore – since by the world’s vote America is exceptional, and yet by the Left’s argument it was not our social systems that made us so, then the only explanation that remains is the racist one that it was the white Europeans and their melded cultures rewarding work and risk that have made America the most desired destination on this planet.

This explains the Left’s insane (and racist) assault on western culture and America as the exceptional sovereign nation-state.  Our continued existence as a capitalistic country populated by a free and entrepreneurial people flies in the face of everything that the Left preaches in our schools, throughout our public forums, and in concert with our enemies around the world.

Comments

[Don Bessee]

It sounds like the kool-aide was passed around too much in that group think tank. In the real world we have them chipping away at the rule of law from both sides. Just like good totalitarians.

ICE was born in xenophobia, in a time after 9/11 and has grown up to become a tool of fear and illegality. And as Attorney General, I will continue to speak out against ICE, I will prosecute ICE for their criminal acts.

https://www.breitbart.com/2018-elections/2018/08/01/ny-democrat-escalates-abolish-ice-wants-prosecute-ice/

;-)

[Gregory]

George,

The paper is linked as commentary, not policy, from the Cato website. It is clearly marked as being published in USA Today, of all places, a newspaper I have in my hands a few times a year at most, because it was the only newspaper laying around in a hotel lobby.

The author is a lecturer in Econ at Harvard and according to his web presence there, has taught just two classes in the past few years. Meaning one class in the fall of '16, another a couple years earlier.

It might be that he also lectures in the large cattle call classes taken by many.

It is an extreme libertarian position, pretty much anarchy favoring employers in the USA rather than people living here and selling their labor here. As I think I mentioned earlier... dollars are fungible but people are not. It strikes me as a reason Cato stopped getting my money over 20 years ago... it was publishing much that I just didn't bother reading.

The Reason Foundation has generally received more attention by me.

[George Rebane]

Gregory 653pm - I'm glad you're all clear on that. I still have to wait to hear from Cato.

[Account Deleted]

from the paper - "Expenditure on the welfare state will contract because even if immigrants vote for welfare spending, existing residents will vote for less generous benefits when they believe these accrue to recent immigrants. What about possible bad outcomes of open borders? Immigrants will not flood into America, although the rate of immigration might
increase. Instead, much of the immigration will be temporary. Return migration happens because most people want to be near their families, surrounded by their own language, culture or religion."

This is a joke, right?
Complete fantasy.
We probably don't need the Highway Patrol, either. Once folks see all the wrecks everywhere, they'll slow down on their own and follow the laws voluntarily.
I'm a reasonable fellow - I'm sure everyone else in the world is too.

[scenes]

"Out of deference to the critics, I want to comment on ... what the bill will not do. First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same ... Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset ... Contrary to the charges in some quarters, S.500 will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and economically deprived nations of Africa and Asia. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think. Thirdly, the bill will not permit the entry of subversive persons, criminals, illiterates, or those with contagious disease or serious mental illness. As I noted a moment ago, no immigrant visa will be issued to a person who is likely to become a public charge ... the charges I have mentioned are highly emotional, irrational, and with little foundation in fact. They are out of line with the obligations of responsible citizenship. They breed hate of our heritage."

T. Kennedy on the Immigration Act of 1965.

lol. Pull the other one.

[Bill Tozer]

As Gregory rightly points out, there is a big difference between an indivdual’s opinion and policy papers. I am sure that I have posted links that contain studies from the Cato Institute a time or three. Same goes for studies, research, or even long term polling from The Atlantic, American Enterprise Institute, American Pediatrics College, or any number outfits that are contained within links I have posted supporting the writers’s arguments and POV, whether I like the outfit or not. I would be the first to say that the WaPo has a couple of good reasoned thoughtful writers despite what I think of the WaPo as a whole.

As far as open borders go, it’s not just about immigration. How many times have we read about cartel mules carrying hard drugs across the border. One bust that sticks out was several men packing in a large quantity of an ingredient used in the making of Fentanyl. Guess all does not come in from China via cargo ships. Whether the base ingredient/compound was headed to a licensed US manufacturer or some black market lab set up in a warehouse somewhere, I haven’t a clue. And I would be amiss not mention knockoffs and pirated items to avoid customs.

[scenes]

re: Cato Institute articles.

You know, you are probably better off avoiding reading policy papers by anyone claiming the job title of 'economist', especially the Ivy League variety. It's like getting your health news from hippy dippy herbal medicine websites. The occasional (and probably accidental) bit of truth, beaucoup pseudoscience, and a whole lot of wild ass guesses.

A straight-ahead political columnist will at least have the wisdom of the guy on the next bar stool and lacks an appeal to self-authority.

It would be interesting to give the Paul Krugmans of the world a bit of seed capital and see how they do. Like Hugh Hendry said about Jeffrey Sachs:

"When you bring on a professor and when you bring on a politician, they are unaccountable. Jeffrey's wrong, you know what? He'll survive and tenure. I'm wrong, I go bankrupt."

[George Rebane]

Dear People - FYI, my commentary on this piece from Cato really does continue in the annotated pdf which you are encouraged to download, peruse, and comment on.

[George Rebane]

scenes 848am - I read the economists' policy papers because the journalists who report on them are often wrong because of poor reading skills or their attempt to promote an alternative agenda. My own opinions about economics and economists are well-recorded in these pages.

[scenes]

GeorgeR@8:50AM

I didn't even notice that, those are reasonable points.

One of my favorite shibboleths is the notion that 'you can have a borderless world if there were no .gov benefits' (or it's inverse, benefits imply borders).

Simply tell all new immigrants that they don't get welfare, allow free movement to all who can hobble on board an airliner, and back up the 767s in Lagos, Mumbai, or Mexico City. My proof is no stronger than Dr. Mirons, but my guess is that it would make The Camp of the Saints look trivial. The wars would break out long before the whole world became equally miserable, so it's likely there are upper limits.

[George Rebane]

scenes 922am - Agreed.

[Todd Juvinall]

Uh oh, looks like the "blue wave" is going RED!

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/its-a-great-time-to-look-for-a-new-job.html