Amazing Statistics

I blogged about David Nicklaus’ immigration column a few days ago. Now I see that he’s returned to the topic, directing Mound City Money readers to some surprising numbers about immigration. He quotes L. Gordon Crovitz:

Half of Silicon Valley start-ups were founded by immigrants, up from 25% a decade ago. […] A recent study by the Kauffman Foundation found that immigrants are 50% likelier to start businesses than natives. Immigrant-founded technology firms employ 450,000 workers in the U.S. And according to the National Venture Capital Association, immigrants have started one quarter of all U.S. venture-backed firms.

Nicklaus also highlights a National Bureau of Economic Research paper that documents immigrants’ exceptional productivity.

Just as fascinating as those numbers is the reasoning behind the first comment to the post. “Ted44” argues that we should send foreign college students back to their countries of origin, so they can start their innovative businesses and employ thousands of people in those places rather than in the United States, because if they stay here they’ll be competing with Americans for “limited resources.”

Knowledge and industriousness are limited resources too, which immigrants can provide in abundance.