The current state of America’s priorities and challenges can be summed up by looking at one place: the negotiations surrounding the 2009 Obama Economic Stimulus package. This plan, totaling nearly $790 Billion, aims to help revive the struggling economy, while laying a heavy financial burden on future generations to pay for. Democrats and Republicans battled over which financial expenditures in the areas of education, technology, health care, energy and infrastructure, will likely yield the greatest number of jobs, fix the economy and secure America’s future.

These competing priorities are at the heart of the Dowell Myers’s book, “Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America.” In this treatise, Myers argues that a new intergenerational contract needs to be created between retiring Baby Boomers and newly arrived immigrants to solve our economic and demographic challenges. Myers describes it as a “social contract of intergenerational support,” which is “based in intergenerational transfers of resources through the mediums of taxation and social expenditure.”

Quite simply, Myers proposes a more enlightened view of immigrant arrivals and the challenges that it presents to America. Instead of thinking of immigrants in what he describes as a “Peter Pan” way, whereby they remain stuck in an infancy stage of assimilation, he challenges the voting public to consider a picture of immigrants who have evolved, developed and contribute greatly to society. It is these immigrants (in addition to the native born) that will become the taxpayers of the future who will provide the financial support to the elderly Baby Boomers. In essence, the immigrants of today will pay for the Social Security, pensions and health care of aging Boomers. Subsequently, it is in our shared best interest to invest in education and assist in the integration and assimilation of our foreign born entrants.

For those of us looking for a more hopeful and broader understanding of the immigration challenges especially in light of the current economic situation and concurrent demographic shifts, “Immigrants and Boomers” is a vital read. Myers challenges the current and most prevalent conversation surrounding immigration, or the “outlook of despair” which proposes raising taxes and the retirement age, and decreasing the amount of entitlement benefits like Social Security for seniors as the solution. Or even worse, simplifying the problem to merely building more borders, hiring more enforcement agents and implementing deportation quotas.

He rightly counters this dismal outlook rooted in past thinking with a much-needed “outlook of hope” anchored in the future. Myers offers a cogent argument for supporting the assimilation of immigrants into America for our greater good. His discussion of the life stages of individuals from childhood to retirement and its implications on public support were very compelling. It’s easy to see how our perspective on the immigration discussion depends greatly on our place in this life cycle as well as our view of immigrant assimilation. U.S. citizens with immigrant parents or family members who have obtained the “American Dream” may have a much easier time understanding Myers’ argument against the “Peter Pan” syndrome. Apparently, the data shows that more immigrants are successful than commonly believed.

The “Immigrants and Boomers” argument about expanding the middle class through continuous investment in education and strengthening our homegrown workforce was quite persuasive. Over the past eight years, America has seen the dangers of a dramatically shrinking middle class and the increase of America’s wealth retained by the top 1 percent. Shoring up the middle class and creating workers that can buy and retain homes benefits the older generations who need to sell their properties as well as the entire U.S. economy. This argument is easily reinforced by the present day financial crisis brought upon by a large number of Americans unable to pay their mortgages.

Myers wrote the book mainly to inform the everyday citizen. Therefore, we, as the voting public, have to make a choice. Do we choose self-interest for its own sake or seek a mutual self-concern? Do we leave the hard choices about immigrants and demographics up to politicians who are overly near-sighted? Or do we vote for enlightened social policy that weighs future budgetary issues? Likewise, do we consider the present moment only when making financial and policy decisions? Or do we challenge ourselves to look beyond our current paradigms and towards a better future for all Americans. Ultimately, do we choose to view immigration (illegal or not) as a means for despair or as a challenge full of hope to course correct our path towards a multiethnic American dream that suits everyone not just the white majority.

Myers asks us to consider both perspectives and choose hope.

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