Immigration is backwards

Conjecture: inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence, or a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork.

Saying that “All knowledge is conjecture that needs refutation” is overbroad and most likely incorrect. The majority of proven scientific research does not fall under the definition of conjecture, and knowledge certainly does not need refutation.

Just because something has not been proven incorrect does not mean it is correct. This is known as the Argument From Ignorance Fallacy: Argument from ignorance - Wikipedia. Your point that since I did not fully refute the article, the article must be true is a logical fallacy and incorrect.

To your original point that immigrants need $200,000 in extra government spending to avoid negative outcomes, I’m going to point to @spudzee, where he pointed out how your point falls under the Lump of Labor Fallacy in economics. I would also like to add his link here, along with some of my own: Do Immigrants Cost Native-Born Taxpayers Money? | Econofact

A quote from the article: " Most immigrants are in their working ages and so, viewed as individuals, are average net taxpayers . Since they tend to arrive to the United States as adults, it means that the U.S. did not have to invest in their education, but will benefit from the taxes of their adult earnings."

An NPR article on the topic: 4 myths about how immigrants affect the U.S. economy | PBS NewsHour. Immigrants and their children, on average, require less government spending to maintain and contribute more in taxes than the average American.

This report Front Matter | The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration | The National Academies Press finds that each immigrant represents a net present value of $259,000 dollars, so even if the Government did need to spend $200,000 on every immigrant (which it certainly does not), they would still represent a net gain.

I’ve already talked about immigration in a previous discussion, so I’m going to reiterate that most economists and demographers find immigration to be a net benefit to the economy. Please see that discussion thread for more information: Skills shortage.

2 Likes