I've always argued that this country has benefited immensely from the fact that we draw people from all over the world.
Alan GreenspanRead
We ought to be opening up our borders to skilled labour from all parts of the world because [the state of the world is as follows: ] if we were to do that we would increase the supply of skilled workers that our schools have been unable to create and as a consequence of that we would lower the average wage of skills and reduce the degree of income inequality in this country.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embracing immigration of skilled workers can benefit the economy and reduce income inequality.
Alan Greenspan argues that welcoming skilled labor from around the world could help increase the labor pool that educational institutions have struggled to provide. This influx would not only enhance economic productivity but also potentially lower wages for skilled jobs, thereby decreasing income inequality.
Themes
ImmigrationSkilled LaborIncome InequalityEconomyWages
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on immigration policy, one might quote this to advocate for more skilled labor.
More from Alan Greenspan
All quotes →There's no other job in public life that is like chairman of the Fed.
Alan GreenspanRead
Since 1948 I have spent every single day thinking how the economic and political worlds have changed.
Alan GreenspanRead
Most high-income people in our country do not realize that their incomes are being subsidized by their protection from competition from highly skilled people who are prevented from immigrating to the United States. But we need such skills in order to staff our productive economy, so that the standard of living for Americans as a whole can grow.
Alan GreenspanRead
I don't know where the stock market is going, but I will say this, that if it continues higher, this will do more to stimulate the economy than anything we've been talking about today or anything anybody else was talking about.
Alan GreenspanRead
Every economy exists, no matter what the level of democracy, has elements of crony capitalism. It's - given human nature and given the democratic structures, which we all, I assume, adhere to, that is an inevitable consequence.
Alan GreenspanRead
Similar quotes
The public firm can nowhere maintain itself in free competition with the private firm; it is possible today only where it has a monopoly that excludes competition. Even that alone is evidence of its lesser economic productivity.
Ludwig Von MisesRead
No bank should be too big or too complex to fail, but almost any bank is too big to liquidate quickly, particularly in the midst of a crisis.
Henry PaulsonRead
Some people say we have this inequality because some people have been contributing much more to our society, and so it's fair that they get more. But then you look at the people who are at the top, and you realize they're not the people who have transformed our economy, our society.
Joseph StiglitzRead
Fundamentally, there are only two ways of coordinating the economic activities of millions. One is central direction involving the use of coercion - the technique of the army and of the modern totalitarian state. The other is voluntary cooperation of individuals - the technique of the marketplace.
Milton FriedmanRead
What do you think a stimulus is? It’s spending - that's the whole point! Seriously.
Barack ObamaRead
Most poor people live in the poorest countries.
Bill GatesRead