The new Census report shows no cause for concern. High immigration will allow America to stay younger than European and Asian countries, even though all have an aging population. DP
By The Orange County Register
vvdailypress.com: "America's changes will be less than we think. We've already become a more open, dynamic country," says Dan Griswold, an immigration expert with the libertarian Cato Institute. "What will happen to America is what has already been happening to California, Texas, New York City, and other economically successful regions."
By many accounts, immigration has improved employment and productivity while increasing the flexibility of U.S. labor markets. According to Wall Street Journal writer Jason Riley, most immigrants assimilate quickly because they share American values of freedom, hard work, and democracy. Employment and homeownership - both good indications of assimilation - are up among immigrants. The 2000 census also reports that 91 percent of the second-generation and 97 percent of the third-generation immigrants speak English well. The gradual assimilation seen in the Hispanic population similarly occurred with the Germans and Irish in the 19th century and southeastern Europeans and Chinese in the 20th century. Like today's Hispanic immigrants, most of these immigrants were poor and unskilled. There is an argument that immigration strains social programs, but the root problem isn't immigration - it's the nanny state social programs themselves.
The aging population in the U.S. actually may constitute a bigger problem than immigration, given that among the white population those over 65 is expected to double. However, the Hispanic population will remain young and vital, with minorities expected to constitute a majority of 18-29 year olds by 2028. The increase in immigration and birth rate among Hispanics will actually slightly delay the Social Security crisis in the U.S.
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