Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation:

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reposted by I’m Sorry I Don’t Have A Plane To Give Hat

Dani Rodrik
‪@drodrik.bsky.social‬

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Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.
May 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM

Three things made the US a rich and powerful nation: the rule of law, its science & innovation system, and openness to foreign talent. Remarkable how Trump has taken a sledgehammer to all three. No enemy of this country could do more.

— Dani Rodrik (@drodrik.bsky.social) 2025-05-22T23:09:17.050Z

[wcmagumba]

1. True but I always have to temper these thoughts with remembering our (Euro settlers) treatment of 1st Nation peoples...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. The skeet attracted a bunch of comments pointing out other reasons. And good morning. NT

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I'd add more than two centuries of African Slave Labor.

Easy to become rich and powerful when you don't have the expense of salaries and incarcerated employees.

[elocs]

4. I've never liked the name Native Americans for them because they were here long before there was an America.

I like how Canada refers to them calling them the "First Nations".

The European settlers even used germ warfare against them giving them smallpox infected blankets.

[applegrove]

7. We don't use the word "native" in Canada. It is looked down upon.

We use "First Nations" or "indigenous" But I've heard native Americans say indigenous could be anyone living on deep ancestral lands anywhere in the world so they like "native" because it implies them specifically.

[elocs]

8. Yeah, that's what I said in my post. I like First Nations the name Canada uses.

It has a sense of dignity to it.

[applegrove]

9. Yes. It is about dignity. In french immersion in the 1970s

our teachers would call First Nations people "sauvages".

[mopinko]

5. so many u.s. nobles were won by immigrants.

https://iir.gmu.edu/publications/nobelprize

[applegrove]

6. Because they don't want any new millionaires - potential billionaires -

who could be Democrats. All these groups could include people from the middle class who did well. People who knew where they came from and not people in the Billionaire Oligarch bubble (which is different than the MAGA bubble in that the oligarchs are exploiting and taking the wealth of the regular MAGA people and taught never to give to charity as any growing middle class is the enemy).

[JoseBalow]

10. Making America Great...