No Country ever in existence since the world began has allowed their citizens more freedom.
No other Country produces rags to riches like this Country has.
There has never been as free a people as the citizens of the United States of America.
Three specific claims - all false. The narrative that America is the Land of Opportunity was once true. But in today's tech world, the opportunities are global.
Talk about indoctrinated.
I disagree. Why do people still flock to this country? The land of opportunity doesn't just mean starting a google...it includes the pizza shop down at the corner
But do they really 'flock' here?
5 facts about the U.S. rank in worldwide migrationExcerpt:
Compared with other countries receiving immigrants, the share of the U.S. population that is foreign born is modest. About one-in-seven people living in the United States (14%) were born in other countries, a near-historic record. By way of comparison, about one-in-five people in Canada (22%) are foreign born. In Australia, it’s nearly three-in-ten people (28%). And in some Persian Gulf countries such as Qatar (75%) and United Arab Emirates (88%), the great majority of their resident populations are immigrants, many who have been actively recruited as foreign labor.
More at this link:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/18/5-facts-about-the-u-s-rank-in-worldwide-migration/And GOPers hate that the immigrants are not in large part white Europeans.
US Immigration by CountryImmigration is the international movement of people from their country of origin (where they were born or where they have citizenship) to a different destination country.
Immigrants leave their home countries for several reasons, including searching for economic opportunities, family reunification, retirement, and better access to resources.
The United States has had a long history of significant population growth and cultural changes thanks to immigration. Because the U.S. is a settler-colonial society, all Americans can trace their ancestry to immigrants from other nations, with the exception of those who are Native American.
Immigrants who have been granted the right to reside permanently in the United States are referred to as lawful permanent residents (LPRs) or green card holders. To become a LPR/green card holder, one must first be admitted to the country as a refugee and have been physically present as an admitted refugee for at least one year. Refugees admitted to the U.S. are required to apply for a green card after one year.
Not all LPRs choose to become U.S. citizens. Those looking to apply for citizenship must meet specific requirements, including having lived in the U.S. for five years.
All immigration matters are handled through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The United States has the highest immigrant population in the world of 48.2 million. This is over 14.6% of the total U.S. population and about 20% of international immigrants worldwide. The number of immigrants in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1965. The U.S. immigrant population is incredibly diverse, with just about every country in the world being represented.
In 2018, the United States saw 1,096,611 people obtaining lawful permanent resident status, 528,727 of whom were new arrivals to the United States and 567,884 that had an adjustment of status. The states with the largest immigrant populations are California, New York, Florida, and Texas.
The ten countries of origin that sent the most immigrants to the U.S. in 2018 were:
Mexico - 161,858
Cuba - 76,486
China - 65,214
India - 59,821
Dominican Republic - 57,413
Philippines - 47,238
Vietnam - 33,834
El Salvador - 28,326
Haiti - 21,360
Jamaica - 20,347
Mexico is the top origin country of the U.S. immigrant population. In 2017, 11.2 million immigrants living in the United States were from Mexico, about one-quarter of the total immigrant population. This is likely because of the U.S.-Mexico border that runs along the southern United States.
Countries in South and East Asia comprised about 27% of all immigrants, such as India and China, which had a combined 125,035 immigrants in 2018. This is just 2% more than the total amount of immigrants from Mexico alone.
Here are the 10 countries with the most immigrants to the United States:
Mexico (11,171,893)
India (2,652,853)
China (2,221,943)
Philippines (2,013,756)
El Salvador (1,419,330)
Vietnam (1,345,753)
Cuba (1,343,960)
Dominican Republic (1,177,864)
South Korea (1,039,099)
Guatemala (1,006,987)
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/us-immigration-by-countryAnd as for opportunity:
The 'American Dream' of upward mobility is broken. Look at the numbersThe US has long prided itself as being an exceptionally fluid society with respect to social class and economic mobility. The American Dream holds that anyone who works hard can achieve economic success – perhaps even rise from rags to riches.
Underlying this belief is the assumption of abundant opportunity and meritocracy. Arriving immigrants often believe they have come to a land of opportunity, with a level playing field allowing for advancement and success. Those who fail to do so tend to blame themselves.
To reverse inequality, we need to expose the myth of the ‘free market’
Robert Reich
Robert Reich
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Yet according to recent research, the United States has far less mobility and equality of opportunity today than the European Union or other OECD countries.
First, the amount of economic advantage passed down from one generation to the next is much higher in the US. Approximately 50% of a father’s income position is inherited by his son. In contrast, the amount in Norway or Canada is less than 20%.
What about rising from rags to riches? In the US, 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of the income distribution are able to climb to the top 20% as adults, while the figure in Denmark is nearly double at 15%.
Equality of opportunity is also much less viable in the US than in other OECD countries. American life expectancy varies by up to 20 years depending on the zip code of residence. Quality of education also differs widely depending on the wealth of the neighborhood that families reside in. And the chances of being victimized by a crime, exposed to environmental toxins or having unmet healthcare needs is far greater for America’s poor than those impoverished in all other OECD countries.
One of the reasons for lower US mobility is that the ladder of opportunity has become much harder to climb – because the rungs of the ladder have grown further apart. This is evidenced by the rising levels of income and wealth inequality. Currently, those in the top 20% of the income distribution earn nearly nine times more than those in the bottom 20%. This difference is far greater than in the European Union or the United Kingdom. Wealth inequality is even more skewed. In the United States, the top 5% of the population own three-quarters of the entire financial wealth of the country, while the bottom 60% possess less than 1%.
We discuss one explanation for these trends in our book, Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong about Poverty. The United States has traditionally viewed economic success and failure as the result of individual effort. Rugged individualism and self-reliance have been defining qualities of the American character. On the other hand, our European neighbors are much more likely to attribute poverty to structural factors such as social class or the lack of jobs. As a result, other OECD countries are much more willing to invest in a robust social welfare state designed to help ameliorate some of these structural inequities.
In addition, the United States has frequently viewed poverty and inequities through the lens of race and ethnicity. Poverty is often seen as a “black problem” rather than as an “American problem”. Race has been used to divide poor blacks and whites from seeing their common economic interests. As President Lyndon Johnson once explained to an aide in 1960, “I’ll tell you what’s at the bottom of it. If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.”
Research has shown that more racially heterogeneous societies tend to be less generous in their economic redistribution policies to address structural inequities. The reason for this may be that we tend to be less concerned about the needs of others when they look different from us. On the other hand, countries that are racially homogeneous tend to have much more robust social safety nets.
With a new president in the White House, let us hope that more progressive policies will begin to restore the viability of the American Dream and reverse the trends towards less mobility and opportunity. The American Dream should reflect a reality where every child has the opportunity to pursue their passion in order to reach their full potential. Such a dream is well worth investing in.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/13/american-dream-broken-upward-mobility-usI'm only responding because your post made me curious as to the numbers. Facts are our friends.
