And then there's this other myth, of a "Schrödinger's migrant": a person who moves in to a country, and at the same time "steals jobs" and "abuses the welfare system."
Which one is it? Are the refugees coming in and hanging on on state welfare? Or are they "stealing jobs"?
It's neither. Because it's not a zero-sum game. More people means more economic activity, means more jobs. Yes, on some basic level it's that simple.
So what's the deal with the "Schrödinger's migrant", then?
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Simple: labor force with access to a strong social safety net (including good welfare system) is expensive to the moneyed classes. It's cheaper to hire people who have no labor protections, no access to welfare, and ideally also no local support network.
It's not about making refugees not come. It's about making sure they never get the protections the local labor force already has.
Why? Because then they become super cheap labor. And a way to dismantle labor protections for everyone!
How?
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