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June 01, 2002

Danes Pull up the Drawbridge

Yesterday, the Danish parliament approved legal changes that told immigrants to look elsewhere, barring most asylum seekers, slashing public benefits in half for immigrants, and even ending the automatic right of spouses of citizens to enter the country. The article notes, "More than 60 percent of Danes supported the law, partly because they believed that the high number of immigrants was threatening their cradle-to-grave benefit and pension systems."
...This is the fatal flaw of European welfare states. They exist as a largely white island of privilege in a world of poverty and starvation, a world whose members beat against the walls of Europe seeking entry. For all the flaws of the US, after the brief anti-immigrant paroxysm of Prop 187 and its aftermath, it has maintained its commitment to high immigration and actually expanding the benefits available to immigrants in recent years.

Posted by Nathan at June 1, 2002 12:32 PM

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