We first have to understand Michigan’s past and the many myths associated with it. The first myth is that globalization is bad for Michigan. Many claim that trade policies are the culprits of our state’s high unemployment. It probably is the most widely used and commonly accepted mantra that carries water in Michigan. It also is misleading.

People forget productivity is the basic measure of a worker’s output. Part of the reason there are far fewer manufacturing jobs in 2011 than there were in 1950 is because the American worker and the machinery he or she uses are many times more productive. What took a few thousand workers to make a half century ago now only takes a few hundred today. As automobiles were once labor-intensive products to make, it follows that large increases in productivity lead to declines in manufacturing employment. That has less to do with free trade than it does with the most productive workforce in the world.

It is true that lower-skill, blue-collar manufacturing jobs have been shipped abroad. But as politically incorrect as it might be to say, that’s not an entirely bad thing. Economic growth is all about getting more efficient and having a comparative advantage over what you produce. American consumers benefit from less expensive products made abroad that would otherwise cost more if they were made here.

But it’s also true that globalization is not simply a race to the bottom for all American jobs to be shipped overseas. We are at the top of the global hierarchy of the skills-based, white-collar jobs of the 21st century. Our universities are the best in the world because we produce the workers who can innovate and add value to a company in ways our competitors cannot.

Finally, the most absurd, and to me most offensive, scapegoat for Michigan’s economic decline is legal immigration. The mantra goes that those who come here legally, like my parents, are taking jobs away from Americans who were born here. Unfortunately, that simply is not true.

In 2010, immigrants were more than twice as likely as native-born citizens to start up a business each month, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. Therefore, legal immigrants do not replace jobs for those who are looking for work; they create jobs and wealth for all in our society. As with every wave of immigrants in our country’s past, they overcome the social and economic barriers on the road to success.

Ignoring the benefits of legal immigration is not only a disastrous economic strategy; it goes against the very foundations of our country.

With all these lessons in mind, we should focus on what will make Michigan more competitive. Current students should train for high-skilled, knowledge-based jobs rather than relying on one industry for low-skilled manufacturing jobs. Companies that used to provide products to the auto industry should tweak and diversify their product line for the needs of other industries. But new companies should be geared toward health care, finance and high-tech manufacturing to stay current with the demands of a global marketplace.

We also should engage the global community, not fear it. States, such as Virginia and Texas, have gained many jobs by connecting the needs of foreign companies with the abilities of their skilled workers. We should be making it easier for Michigan’s small businesses to export to gain the same success.

If we change our perspective and give it due time, there’s no reason Michigan can’t be an economic powerhouse again.

Ameek Singh is a State News guest columnist and an international relations junior. Reach him at sodhiame@msu.edu.