Quote:
Originally Posted by DeathAndTaxes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income
US still has very high median income. Median income is a good indicator of the chance for a "Joe Nobody" to achieve a prosperous lifestyle.
The US has a huge waiting list (currently 4+ years with lottery unless you have a "special relationship) for immigration so "supply and demand" currently indicates the world values the chance at residency. While residency isn't the same as citizenship for most people it is a pre-requisite.
I think it is funny (sad) that so many people think the US is some 3rd world country yet millions of people wait years for just the chance of coming here, millions more do so illegally, and millions more would come if they simply had the chance. I guess all those millions got it wrong and continue to get it wrong year after year after year.
here it is a comparison made in 1991 between the U.S., Northern Europe, Canada and Japan that Americans should look instead of just income (now add to these statistics the wars, the debt, the printing of money, the patriot act, guns control, the crysis, black friday, etc,etc)
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/8Comparison.htm
If I lived in most of these countries I would love to come to the U.S.
"We thought it would be interesting to share with you this list. This is taken from statistics compiled from the U.S. Department of State’s website. For each country, the list includes the total number of legal immigrants who received green cards last year, whether from being issued immigrant visas overseas or from having their status adjusted in the U.S. It includes family-based and employment-based immigrants, and even special immigrants and diversity-lottery immigrants.
The results were pretty much what were expected, with a couple of surprises. Can you guess which country is # 1 in sending immigrants to the U.S. last year? Hint: it’s a neighbor of ours
Here is the complete list with the number of legal immigrants in 2008:
1. Mexico (166,271)
2. India (64,857)
3. China (60,720)
4. Philippines (53,171)
5. Vietnam (39,915)
6. Dominican Republic (33,230)
7. Pakistan (25,972)
8. Haiti (24,726)
9. South Korea (23,077)
10. El Salvador (17,193)
The amazing thing about this is that 4 out of the top 5 countries sending immigrants to the U.S. are in Asia. In fact, 6 out of the top 10 are in Asia, with the remaining 4 countries in North and Central America and the Caribbeans, with of course, Mexico is #1, which is not really much of a surprise.
What about our other neighbor, Canada, you might ask? Well, not even close. It’s 18th on the list. As for Great Britain? A measly 20th. In fact, no other country in Europe even cracks the top 20. One country in Africa made the top 20, Nigeria, in 16th place.
In the 19th century and early 20th century, immigration to the U.S. was mostly composed of immigrants from Europe. However, beginning in the mid-1960s, most immigrants have come from Latin America, Asia, and Africa."