Lessons of the Haitian Migrant Cat Scare

Despite scaremongering to the contrary, Haitian immigrants don’t eat cats, and have much lower crime rates than native-born Americans. There are some broader lessons to be learned from this episode.

The cat-eating hysteria is  even worse than the usual scenario of nativists holding an entire immigrant group responsible for the unrepresentative actions of a few members. Here, it appears the accusation was just totally false. But it is still an example of the more general problem of focusing on dramatic stories rather than more systematic data.

https://reason.com/volokh/2024/09/12/lessons-of-the-haitian-migrant-cat-scare/

How Rich People Create Poverty

The real gains come from people moving to where their labor is more valuable — and that’s in high-income countries like the United States. The problem is, we rich Westerners won’t let them come. We consign them to lives of low productivity and the attendant poverty by building walls and saying, “No foreigners allowed.” The kicker? We impoverish ourselves in the process. We impoverish ourselves by keeping markets from working and, therefore, keeping others poor.

https://www.aier.org/article/how-rich-people-create-poverty/

Friedrich Hayek’s Legacy for the 2024 Election

Government failures are worse than any perceived market failures. 

Taking a cue from Hayek, we should strive for more free trade agreements, especially with our allies, which means an end to all tariffs and other barriers. We should also enact market-based immigration policies that balance national security concerns with the economic advantages of attracting talent from diverse backgrounds. 

Help wanted: More bright minds in Dayton

Dayton has a rich history as an innovation leader — once boasting the most patents per-person in the country. Skilled immigrants tend to hold patents at astonishingly high rates, so increasing skilled immigration can help restore that reputation.

But Uncle Sam stands in the way.

https://www.daytondailynews.com/ideas-voices/voices-help-wanted-more-bright-minds-in-dayton/K7ERIKKV5VHG3KRXW2AJJE2FGE/

Don’t Blame Migrants and ‘Open Borders’ for Fentanyl Entering the Country

Of all drug seizures during that period, 91 percent involved just U.S. citizens, while 4 percent involved “potentially removable people.” In reality, Border Patrol apprehends an exceedingly small number of people carrying fentanyl.

Don’t Blame Migrants and ‘Open Borders’ for Fentanyl Entering the Country