*Thread*

Progressives often look to Denmark as a beacon of success & want those successes replicated in the US.

What Progressives fail to address is Denmark’s restrictive immigration policies. They have a Social Democrat/Liberal (party) PM who is an immigration restrictionist. https://twitter.com/ioannisekolovos/status/1352876792680493057

The Danes aren’t anti-immigrants. They just understand that a more lenient immigration policy would create an economic burden to the country because of their numerous social welfare programs (healthcare, education, paid vacation, etc), & effect on wages.

@SenSanders knew this:

Denmark has a capitalistic system that ensures their citizen’s benefit first. They realize there’s no utility in having a country if the majority of their people are suffering. They don’t try to make a quick buck by screwing over their citizens as is emblematic in the US.

Denmark also doesn’t engage in any wage tampering programs using temporary visas to bring in lower paid indentured foreign workers to displace their citizens like the US does.

Danes follow the simple philosophy that if you can’t find qualified workers, you train them.

This isn’t to say that Denmark hasn’t run into high-skilled labor shortages. They have, but only after *exhausting* full employment levels of their own citizens. They will sometimes bring in skilled-workers that are part of the EU to fill jobs. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/business/economy/denmark-jobs-full-employment.html

Compare that with the US where the *true* unemployment rate is quite high, and companies are bringing in foreign workers not due to any shortage, but rather, to displace high-skilled American workers from their jobs & offshore their jobs to countries like India.

Denmark has no minimum wage laws. They have unions & employer organizations that negotiate wages based on supply & demand & skill level of the worker. Tight labor mkt - workers able to negotiate a fair wage. In the US, businesses look to visas & undocumented workers as loopholes. https://twitter.com/danpriceseattle/status/1309696726425628672

The US capitalism model is nothing more than one big giant arbitrage: bring more to consume products imported at lower prices from China - Profit!

Bring more people in to sell homes they can’t afford - Profit!

Bring cheaper visa workers - Profit!

Denmark doesn’t do this. /End