Collegiate Times

I would like to offer a fact-based rebuttal to the letter to the editor entitled "The truth about immigration,"(CT, Oct. 3).

First and foremost, I would like to point out that the letter in no way addressed immigration, but rather was just a blanket degradation of America and her citizens. So now let's get our facts straight.

The letter made the truthful statement that China and India account for 40 percent of the world's population; the facts stopped here. It went on to say Americans are complacent, less educated, and generally underachieving. Basic economics paints an entirely different scenario. While China and India comprise 40 percent of the world's population, their combined productivity (measured as GDP based on 2006 est.) is less than 22 percent of the world's productivity. In contrast, the United States population is only 5 percent of the world's population yet accounts for 20 percent of the worl d's productivity. On a per capita basis, this means that the average Chinese worker earns $7,800, the average Indian worker earns $3,800, and the average American worker earns $43,800 annually. This is a remarkable statistic when comparing the productivity of these three countries.

In addition, the letter advised Americans to "take a look at what country your shirt was made in." This is a completely counterproductive point. The unfortunate workers who are producing these T-shirts work for sustenance-level wages and live in third-world conditions.

Furthermore, the parent companies that outsource such menial labor are normally based in the United States or Europe. In this case, who really reaps the benefit of their labors? Does this in any way prove that these people are taking our jobs or becoming millionaires as the letter suggests?

The letter is concludes by suggesting that we collectively as Americans "stop living for the weekend, smoking, drinking four times a week and complaining about your life. Work harder." I am not even going to dignify these repulsive and ignorant statements with a response.

Instead, I am going to offer you some real advice: get a grip on reality, get your facts straight, don't generalize and don't slander the good name of the American people unless you can back it up.

In conclusion, I believe that some of the greatest minds in America are legal immigrants, many of whom have become citizens. I know they are proud to be Americans and work hard because of it. Ideologies like the ones the letter suggests only create tensions among good people and have no place at an institution like Virginia Tech.