FLIPPING THE NARRATIVE

The portrayal of immigrants in the media as of late has been largely negative; ignoring the many amazing contributions that immigrants make to our collective culture. We intend to flip this narrative and broadcast the authentic voices of immigrants through photography, videography and interviews like Spice of the Week (below).

past SPICE OF THE WEEK: Uttera Singh

From India to LA, Uttera Singh is a spicy firecracker to be reckoned with. She is a director, writer, and actor and you follow her and her projects on her website: https://www.utterasingh.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

NOT FAKE NEWS: Immigrants are entrepreneurs, innovators, contributors and magnetic people to be proud of. They bring more FLAVOR to our country. NO IMMIGRANTS NO SPICE!

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Immigrants fuel entrepreneurship. From startup halal trucks to start up tech companies, immigrants are more likely to start up and own a business than native-born Americans. Business ownership is higher than native-born in developed countries. Among startup companies that were valued at more than $1 billion in 2016, half were founded by immigrants. Among Fortune 500 companies, 40 percent were founded by immigrants or their children.

 

INNOVATION

Immigrants innovate. Immigrants make up 17 percent of the US workforce, while filing one-third of the patents and accounting for more than one-third of US workers with a PhD in one of the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math. According to one study an increase in one percentage point in immigrant college graduates results in a 15% increase in patents per capita.

 

CONTRIBUTION

Immigrants keep America’s economic engine moving forward. As the population ages and Americans are having fewer children, immigrant families are filling the labor force and keeping our pensions and social security afloat. From 2002-2009 for example, immigrants paid in over $115 billion more than they took out of Medicare; and from 2005 until 2080, immigrants will have contributed over $600 billion to help fund Social Security. Immigrants also directly contribute to the economy; while immigrants make up only 13% of the United States population, they fulfill 15% of the national economic output. In addition to boosting economic growth, immigration also leads to an INCREASE in wages for native born workers. Immigrants come to work new jobs but also consume goods and services thus creating new jobs; as the labor force expands the economy expands with it. As the chairmen of the fed Jerome Powell recently said “From an economic growth standpoint, reduced immigration would result in lower population growth and thus, all else equal, slower trend economic growth”.

 

MAGNETISM

America is a symbol of prosperity and upward mobility and remains a powerhouse in part due to its open and accepting values. The presence of multiple thriving cultures in the US helps expand its interests around the world via soft power - positive feedback via networks overseas which helps counterbalance the negative aspects of hard power- helping the U.S. achieve its foreign policy goals with greater ease.