New York is a ‘smelter of people’

From Aaron Wren in Urbanophile, on how New York City improves the nation’s skilled population: “New York … takes in immigrants — raw recruits, if you will — and spits out Americans. It takes in young singles … and spits out skilled people with families. There is huge value in this. In a sense, New York City is a gigantic refinery for human capital. It’s a smelter for people. Perhaps we shouldn’t be any more sad about New York exporting people than we are about it exporting financial services. Taking in people, adding value, then exporting them is one of New York’s core competencies. Maybe we should be thanking it for providing a valuable service.”