Minnesota Chamber Official: Immigrants Drive Rural Economic Development

[TexasTowelie]

Frequent commenter Debbo recently shared with me this Minneapolis Star-Tribune article on retiring Minnesota Chamber of Commerce official Bill Blazar, who says immigrants are vital to sustaining rural Midwestern economic development:

Forty percent of the Fortune 500 companies in Minnesota were either started by immigrants or their children. A 2014 tally found more than 16,000 immigrants employed in businesses of their own making. Six percent of all Minnesota businesses are immigrant-owned, employing more than 60,000 Minnesotans. Nearly 1 out of 4 workers in Minnesota’s medical-equipment and computer industries in 2014 were foreign-born.

Immigrants often need taxpayer support initially, “but once they get settled, they are an asset this state needs badly,” Blazar said. They are often bilingual. They are familiar with countries in which a middle class is emerging — places that are potential new markets for Minnesota products.

Yet “all too often, Minnesotans’ view of the role of immigrants in the economy is ‘They put the roof on my house and they take care of my parents in the nursing home.’ ”

Those who say that aren’t seeing the whole picture. “There isn’t a company that I visit that doesn’t have immigrant workers.” A 2014 analysis found that foreign-born Minnesotans are slightly more likely to have a bachelor’s or graduate degree than are native-born people [Lori Sturdevant, “Retiring Chamber Leader Blazar Has a Message He Hopes Has Staying Power,” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2018.09.28].

Local Trumpists monging fear of foreigners stand in the way of bringing new workers, new ideas, and new money to rural America.

http://dakotafreepress.com/2018/10/09/minnesota-chamber-official-immigrants-drive-rural-economic-development/
(no more at link)

[Wellstone ruled]

1. This is a great story.

We spend our Summers in South western Minny. If it was not for the New Immigrants,most towns in Rural Minnesota would dry up and blow away. And the locals still just do not get it,one racial slur after the other.