If Mexico were educating all its children to high levels in science and law etc, and when they came here they were unable to break out of a life of grinding poverty, then I’d say that we had a real problem of fairness.
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If Mexico, China, and India all make their children focus on science and law, what will happen to wages in those industries?
It’s short-sighted to think everyone should only major/focus in these areas.
IMHO, America has succeeded largely because of our diversity, resilience, and flexibility. Too many people, globally-speaking, are getting into these majors, and many of those people come from poorer countries.
We need to acknowledge the importance of all workers, not just those in a few fields. We have many top scientists and engineers who were slammed by the aerospace shut-down in the 80s. Many PhDs in science are making less than salespeople and “deal makers” (salespeople, managers, and people in the financial industry, among others). We should not shoe-horn everyone into the same occupations. That is economic suicide, IMHO.
