
Why I’m Investing $500M in Migrants - magsafe
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-im-investing-500-million-in-migrants-1474344001
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Inconel
At the risk of sounding overly cynical, while it's great that Mr. Soros is
donating this money to a worthy cause, I wonder if, as long as he's feeling
charitable, he might also be willing to stop domiciling his investment
vehicles in jurisdictions known for supporting tax evasion/avoidance. Perhaps
with the increased tax revenue, governments could afford to better shoulder
the costs of adequately integrating migrants and refugees without the
assistance of billionaires.

~~~
nylsaar
He's not donating money to a worthy cause. He's investing money in immigrants,
and betting against the host nation's currency. It's how he's made his
fortune.

~~~
Inconel
You're right, I should have said investing rather than donating, but seeing as
there seems to be a moral consideration on his part, I hope the rest of my
post is still appropriate.

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gregn610
[http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-16/soros-hack-
reveals-...](http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-16/soros-hack-reveals-plot-
behind-europes-refugee-crisis-media-funding-and-manipulation?page=2)

~~~
hiddencost
Reading that left me impressed with how thorough of a job Soros is doing to
try to make the world a better place.

As far as I can tell the article tries to make the point that the Soros
foundation is trying to manipulate global policy.

Which ... Yes. That's what these organizations do, and it's been essential to
the process of developing good policy, over the last hundred years... There is
absolutely nothing embarrassing about that memo. If I had written it I would
be proud to see it leaked.

~~~
loop2
Sure as hell isn't making it a better place for Germans or anyone else in
targeted nations.

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phs318u
On a slight tangent here...

I've always thought one of the biggest problems with globalisation as a
concept is the absence of free movement of people.

What _I_ mean by that is the ability of people anywhere to move anywhere else,
to work, consume, pay tax, and otherwise take part in civic life, for as long
as they wish.

We have free movement of capital and free movement of goods. However the
limitation on movement of labour has turned some parts of the planet into
labour ghettos, creating forced economic gradients that benefit a few. While
this has been the case for some time, the free movement of information has
informed even the most ignorant that this need not be the case.

The so-called "economic" migration sweeping the world is the inevitable result
of this state of affairs. Its not just information that wants to be free.

I find it hard to see how one could be a true believer in the power for good
of the free market, without including free movement of labour.

If you follow the thought experiment of what such free movement would look
like, you could imagine the end state being an effective equalisation across
most of the globe. The net effect would also be an acceleration of cultural
equalisation (religious extremists notwithstanding).

Of course, the journey from here to there would be interesting!

~~~
jjn2009
Some cultures are more aggressive than others and do not allow for the free
exchange of ideas. This is why this does not always work. The freedoms
provided by western culture are fragile, a monopoly over a democracy can
result in an antidemocratic anti-free society, one where the benefits of free
anything are extinguished.

~~~
phs318u
I think that's a bit of a simplistic generalisation. It's probably more
accurate to say that there are aggressive and "dangerous" ideas that have
taken hold among some groups of people, including among native westerners. And
I agree that some of these ideas are inimical to free discourse and
enlightenment ideals.

However, other than the pathological power-seekers that cynically exploit such
ideas for their own benefit, most followers (those that are more inclined to
support simplistic and extreme positions) are not much different across ideas.
There is more in common between a neo-Nazi and a fundamentalist Muslim than
either would care to admit. Both are fear-driven, exclusionary, apocalyptic,
conspiratorial, and inclined to violent remedies. Both regard typical western
centrists (both progressive and pale-conservative) as weak.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but surely some elements of a successful
strategy must include education, focusing on unifying similarities, and
forging alliances of moderate groups across religious, cultural, political and
national boundaries. All of which take generations of sustained effort. There
are no quick fixes, contrary to what demagogues would have us believe.

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zorked
This discussion if quickly being flooded with right-wing extremists. If you
make a claim, please, provide a reputable source. If you see a claim being
made without a source, do something for the intellectual health of this
community and downvote.

~~~
Mizza
I don't think just because people disagree with the preferred political
narrative of the global rich that that automatically makes them right-wing
extremists. You know, it's possible to not like George Soros while also not
being a literal Nazi.

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lifeisstillgood
I would prefer to see policies that will cost soros his money:

\- weapons cannot be sold to countries we do not have reciprocal defence
agreements with

\- weapon and oil sanctions are enforced globally

\- a decade long investment of around 5% of world GDP increasing energy
efficiency, at the same time as building electricity pipelines to take solar
from tropical zones to rest of world and an end to oil pipelines

\- end to oil subsidies globally

\- global agreements on water rights between countries, on investment and
policy for efficient (drip) water use in agriculture

Grief, that's just off top of my head and is probably only half the problem.
Basically if we can do all that, Soros will lose his wedge. I doubt he would
mind too much.

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rdtsc
Heh, I just made a joke in another thread about how I like to imagine
sometimes people like Soros are actually hidden ultra-conservatives. They
promote pro-immigration policies because it is the most robust way to turn
West Europeans towards conservatism and nationalism.

If one indeed wanted to achieve that goal, I couldn't think of a faster way.

At this rate, we'll probably see walls built in Europe before we see Trump's
wall over here.

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jlebrech
I would invest in a fortified city in the middle east with added security and
let people flee war there instead of having to go all the way to western
countries. there they'll be able to claim asylum to their country of choice
and when they are given a visa they'll get a free flight there.

~~~
usaphp
The problem is - which country in the middle east will agree to host this
city?

~~~
jlebrech
Syria at the turkish border

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MaggieL
"Investing in migrants" is an incredibly cheap way to buy votes.

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kyrre
Soros seems to have a hand in everything...

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dovdov
"I will invest in startups, established companies, social-impact initiatives
and businesses founded by migrants and refugees themselves."

Delusion pro!

Sure there will be talented people, but they'll find a way, it's still nice
they'll get help getting funded,

but what about the masses who come for social benefits, and don't really wish
to work during their lifetime.

Not to mention the lack of single f*ck they give about European culture.

Come back and live in Europe Soros papa, THEN have it as your playground.

~~~
zyx321
$500M wouldn't last very long if you had to split it among the masses. It's
easy for Soros et al to support mass immigration if they aren't the ones who
bear the cost.

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puranjay
Have no knowledge of Mr. Soros' policies or public stance on issues, but I
ask: why is there even a need for a separate fund for migrants?

From what I know, investors are driven by profit, not be ethnicity. If a
business has potential to turn a profit, I don't think any VC would want to
turn away.

At least that's how things work for some of my Indian friends in the Valley.
No one has ever denied them investment because they were immigrants.

~~~
zyx321
It only makes sense from a PR stand point: Drawing attention to the far
outliers at the top. On a cognitive level, we all know that migrants are
people not entirely unlike ourselves, capable of a wide range emotion sand
behaviors, but what the news would organically expose us to are the outliers
at the bottom - rapists, terrorists, organized crime. By creating this fund,
Soros is trying to steer the conversation towards the top outliers, the
innovators and job creators.

~~~
erlend_sh
I don't know anything about Soros' intentions, but there are many reasons
besides PR to create a fund like this. Refugees have a complicated nationality
status, which can exclude them from the global economy. A fund such as this
could specialise in working around those limitations.

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readittwice
IMHO he will be one of the people responsible for radically limitting the
human right of asylum and the rise of right-wings all over Europe. Asylum once
was a nice idea, but right now it is misused for mass-immigration in Europe.

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desdiv
The "web" link isn't working me (on my setup at this particular moment). It
just returns HN pages and old stories. If you experience the same problem,
google:

 _Why I’m Investing $500 Million in Migrants I will invest in startups,
established companies..._

Which is the story title + subtitle.

~~~
dovdov
yep, paywalled.

Paste the url into google search and go from the results link.

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0xmohit
I guess that wsj links are invariably paywalled. Can't HN stop such links from
being submitted?

~~~
dhruvrrp
Clink on 'web' underneath the link and open the article through Google,
that'll bypass the paywall.

~~~
PieterH
Doesn't work for this article, Google shows only one hit and it's paywalled.

~~~
kalleboo
It worked for me (and that was after I clicked the direct link once and got
the paywall, so presumably I'm cookied). Maybe try using the web link in
private browsing mode?

------
edderly
wsj.com Why I’m Investing $500 Million in Migrants George Soros Sept. 20, 2016
12:00 a.m. ET

The world has been unsettled by a surge in forced migration. Tens of millions
of people are on the move, fleeing their home countries in search of a better
life abroad. Some are escaping civil war or an oppressive regime; others are
forced out by extreme poverty, lured by the possibility of economic
advancement for themselves and their families.

Our collective failure to develop and implement effective policies to handle
the increased flow has contributed greatly to human misery and political
instability—both in countries people are fleeing and in the countries that
host them, willingly or not. Migrants are often forced into lives of idle
despair, while host countries fail to reap the proven benefit that greater
integration could bring.

Governments must play the leading role in addressing this crisis by creating
and sustaining adequate physical and social infrastructure for migrants and
refugees. But harnessing the power of the private sector is also critical.

Recognizing this, the Obama administration recently launched a “Call to
Action” asking U.S. companies to play a bigger role in meeting the challenges
posed by forced migration. Today, private-sector leaders are assembling at the
United Nations to make concrete commitments to help solve the problem.

In response, I have decided to earmark $500 million for investments that
specifically address the needs of migrants, refugees and host communities. I
will invest in startups, established companies, social-impact initiatives and
businesses founded by migrants and refugees themselves. Although my main
concern is to help migrants and refugees arriving in Europe, I will be looking
for good investment ideas that will benefit migrants all over the world.

This commitment of investment equity will complement the philanthropic
contributions my foundations have made to address forced migration, a problem
we have been working on globally for decades and to which we have dedicated
significant financial resources.

We will seek investments in a variety of sectors, among them emerging digital
technology, which seems especially promising as a way to provide solutions to
the particular problems that dislocated people often face. Advances in this
sector can help people gain access more efficiently to government, legal,
financial and health services. Private businesses are already investing
billions of dollars to develop such services for non-migrant communities.

This is why money now moves instantaneously from one mobile wallet to another,
drivers find customers by using only a cellphone, and how a doctor in North
America can see a patient in Africa in real time. Customizing and extending
these innovations to serve migrants will help improve the quality of life for
millions around the world.

All of the investments we make will be owned by my nonprofit organization.
They are intended to be successful—because I want to show how private capital
can play a constructive role helping migrants—and any profits will go to fund
programs at the Open Society Foundations, including programs that benefit
migrants and refugees.

As longtime champions of civil society, we will be focused on ensuring that
our investments lead to products and services that truly benefit migrants and
host communities.

We will also work closely with organizations such as the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee
to establish principles to guide our investments. Our goal is to harness, for
public good, the innovations that only the private sector can provide.

I hope my commitment will inspire other investors to pursue the same mission.

Mr. Soros is chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC and founder of the Open
Society Foundations.

~~~
ManlyBread
The question is: why Europe specifically? There's plenty of neighboring
countries that could take immigrants in and could use a boost of GDP by the
businesses founded by migrants he speaks of. The migrants themselves would be
better off there, since they wouldn't be affected by the rise of right-wing
ideas in Europe.

