Tiger parenting is one way of investing in your kid. I agree, there are multiple ways to invest in your kid.
>More likely is that filters for immigration are very high
Don't agree with this, there are lots of ways to immigrate and I don't think most of them have a sort of wealth/education filter. For example refugees.
Refugees are pretty much the only category that doesn't have some kind of wealth filter, if only because immigration paperwork costs a fair bit of money (esp. when you look at it from the perspective of someone in a country where cost of living is much lower than in US).
And the majority of immigrants in US aren't refugees.
Self selection among immigrants is easily the largest factor behind their higher rates of success. Even as a refuge, there were tons of applicants, there is almost surely a reason you are the one who made it. It's in no way an easy process.
Many cultures hold on to tradition because it's like rappelling down a cliff. Rappel too fast and you're in free fall. Keep it controlled and you won't descend into crazy untested ideas. America didn't keep its traditional values which is why we lack so much of the decency the Japanese show. As a small stupid example: In Japan you can leave a vending machine out in the middle of nowhere unattended (except for restocking) and it won't get stolen from or destroyed. In America it wouldn't last a day unfortunately.
