> It’s undeniably worth investing in immigrants, including refugees. It’s our duty to take care of them as global citizens, just like it’s our duty to care for the elderly and others.

These are different things. Yes we are required to provide the resources needed for life to refugees as well as to the elderly. That doesn't automatically mean that this is a worthy investment. What dividends do you intend to get from a bedridden old person.

> Rhetoric otherwise is just veiled racism.

No, it's not, were did a talk about race? If anything, you could accuse me of egoism, nationalism and social darwinism. Dealing with other perspectives by shouting you are bad guy(tm) won't advance anyone.

But I did not say, that any culture will perform worse than another. I did say a person robbed from his culture, law and economic system, and displaced into another will struggle. Putting on rose tinted glasses will help neither, your society, the refugee nor the refugees society.

> I also think you’d be surprised how little time to pay off would actually be needed.

Sure, that's why the societies with the refugees all outperform their neighbor and are way more peaceful.

> Give people a calm space and community (including their friends and family), and we will all flourish.

Sure, but why should this take place in your country, just because you have a self-inflicted lack of young people? That is very much egoistic and unfair, in my opinion. Providing money for education aid to developing countries and then sending ministers there to openly headhunt the well educated for your country, doesn't seem too far from colonialism and slave trade to me.