January 9, 2012
by John McAndrew
Arriving Immigrant
When a 1%er tells you to “Get a Job,” obviously, you have to go where the jobs are. If it isn’t in the US, maybe it’s China.
Jonathan Levine did it for himself, as you see his article in the NY Times. It might be instructive for some Americans to begin to understand the appeal and the difficulties of being an immigrant. Of course, it sounds like China values immigrants, so it might be an apples and oranges kind of thing. But it IS an available choice, with the usual benefits and drawbacks.
As we continue to see Wall Street’s robber barons getting a free pass in America, China’s swift and final response – at least a couple of people were executed for their part in the scandal – to the baby formula tragedy looks mighty attractive to some.
But the pollution in China has been horrific for decades, and their energy policy seems mostly to be a matter of building more coal plants. One hopes they have a longer-term, more sustainable strategy, and good health care in the meantime.
Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum, in their recent book, That Used to Be Us, contrast the “get ‘er done ” abilities of China with the current American capacity for dithering and delay. They discuss, at the beginning of the first chapter, the difference between the Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Visitor Center, about 2.5 million square feet in size and constructed in 8 months, and the escalators at the heavily used Bethesda Metrorail station, that had been out of service and under repair for six months. As Friedman notes, the most damning thing about America’s current condition is that we have gotten used to it. I would add, we also DEFEND this state of affairs. And we avoid addressing the big issues, like climate change, health care, illiteracy and obesity, ad infinitum, because we no longer have the confidence – and, perhaps, the competence? – to address them.
As with every country, there are pros and cons. But if you need work, above all, it seems China might be a welcoming place for Americans, and an eye-opener.
In the 
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