Just ask, if they think they prefer US-style "growth", would they really prefer to live in a country like the United States? (The answer for the very wealthy, or those who imagine they will become very wealthy, might be yes. For everyone else, there's really no comparison in quality of life.)

"The grass is always greener" can be a dangerous tendency in politics. "Don't it always seem to know you don't know what you got 'til it's gone." ~Joni Mitchell