Lessons From The Cherry Blossom Season

The Japanese have increased tourism, and tourists tend to go to Kyoto. Even the Japanese go to Kyoto because that's where the 'historical' stuff is.

So, anyway, there are a lot more tourists. They make the cherry blossom viewing season suck, because there are too many of them. At some point the city government decided to stop lighting up the trees at night because there were too many tourists and they didn't want to attract anymore of them to the trees.

But then, of course, those native to Kyoto couldn't enjoy a sight they had become accustomed to.

Well, this is tourism, not immigration. They'll get their city back, but they might not get their cherry blossom season back. They could though- by pricing tourists. There are those for whom tourist is a net positive, and those for whom tourism is a net negative. Additionally, there are preferences. They probably would prefer people who behave more like Japanese. Perhaps they would prefer people they find attractive.

This is conceivably doable for tourists. It is also doable for immigrants. It must first be clear that unilateral immigration is trespass, invasion, whether they are nice about it or not, it just doesn't fit in with private property. It also doesn't fit in with our strange world of 'public' property. These are a class of assets that tend to be held by cities, and it has been stolen and subverted by politicians using immigrants. The problem isn't the immigrants themselves- it is the subversion of the people's assets. If the politicians use your assets to help those who will replace you- well, even if you get to sell your land and get out, you've still lost something.

For any immigration, there would be the people willing to house them, and give them work. And these are the people who would pay the cost to the city or community they are in.

And just like with the Kyoto example, the preferences of the local people can and should be taken into account. It ought to be cheaper to import people people like, because that's what the polity there wants. And you want a real polity. These politicians get away with breaking things by churning through populations.

And cherry blossom viewing is a good example, precisely because it is finite and effable. If this is not solved, tourism ruins the cherry blossom season, and then tourism is ruined. It should be very clear. There are less determinate and ineffable aspects to a city, and that's what we are losing in America right now.