Merit and the Case for Immigration

In a country with widespread use of quotas, preferences and set-asides, we seldom see unadulterated merit, especially in academics. As board members of a foundation that awards scholarships based on merit and financial need, we have seen what merit looks like. The findings are important enough to share.

Finis Welch, our late friend and economics colleague at Texas A&M University and UCLA, grew up in a poor Texas family and was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident when he was 18. That setback fueled his determination to succeed. Finis became a prominent academic economist and made a fortune in statistical software, economic consulting and ranching. He left that fortune to award four-year college scholarships to promising students from Texas families of modest means. Students, in other words, like him.

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