Who is this person who says America is not great? Name me a country that is greater. (Australia? Okay you win).
The fact is America leads the world thanks to its invention and innovation. Invention in that they invent things better and faster than anybody else. And they think up and implement new ideas – innovation – better and faster than anybody else.
Who benefits from this? Americans first, and the rest of the world second. The young adult children of the conservative white Trump voters have the jobs in the companies that are inventing and innovating.
A history of immigration
Those companies have been created and are led, in large part, by immigrants. In America’s history, this has always been the case.
Donald Trump’s own grandfather and grandmother were immigrants from Germany.
The greatest name in world politics in the past 10 years is Barack Obama. His father was a Kenyan and a Muslim.
The greatest name in world business in the past 10 years is Steve Jobs. His father was a Syrian and a Muslim.
Both created greatness for America and great wealth for the American people, including through their pension funds that most Americans enjoy.
Diversity driving innovation
In 1950 Australia was a food bowl for Britain. Our population was 8,076,000 people. Today its 24,309,000 – a growth of 300 per cent – and we are a diversified international country. Our largest export is tourism. This was only achieved with immigration. In 2014/15, we accepted 168,000 immigrants, equal to 0.7 per cent of our population. Previous years have been higher.
According to the demographer Bernard Salt, 42 per cent of Sydney’s population were born outside of Australia, making Sydney the No. 2 city in the world for an immigrant population (after Toronto at 49 per cent!). Think of the talent pool, the diversity of ‘these people’ and the drive our immigrants have for success, including success by invention and innovation. (Tech hub San Francisco has 36 per cent and New York 29 per cent).
Celebrating our migrants
When I was growing up my father worked in food manufacturing in what was then the outer rims of Sydney. The factory had a tin roof, no air conditioning and dirt car park at the back. At the kitchen table, we discussed the new Italians in the factory having knife fights at lunchtime in the car park. They were replaced by the Lebanese, then the Maltese, then the Vietnamese, all having ‘knife fights’ in the car park at lunchtime. This reflected where they had come from and what they had been through. (Virtually nobody was hurt – just letting off steam I guess).
They had escaped countries just to be here. Today their children are Premiers and Governors of the country. We are much better for it.
Today 40 per cent of people who care for our elderly and frail in residential aged care are immigrants. We are much better for it.
As so many Americans are saying about Donald Trump and his new ‘regime’, “we are better than this”.
By defending and celebrating immigration, so is Australia.
