Thomas Friedman has a great op-ed piece in today's NY TImes that emphasizes that the US is going to have to innovate like crazy if we're going to emerge from this recession on top. And a liberal skilled immigration policy has got to be part of our strategy. Here are some of the key quotes:
I still believe that America, with its unrivaled freedoms, venture capital industry, research universities and openness to new immigrants has the best assets to be taking advantage of this moment — to out-innovate our competition. But we should be pressing these advantages to the max right now.
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Now is when we should be stapling a green card to the diploma of any foreign student who earns an advanced degree at any U.S. university, and we should be ending all H-1B visa restrictions on knowledge workers who want to come here. They would invent many more jobs than they would supplant. The world’s best brains are on sale. Let’s buy more!
Senate Dems have now 60 votes, now what?
Posted by: Legal_alien_from_roswell | June 30, 2009 at 09:00 PM
Thanks for the update, gg.
Goodnews, indeed !! And finally !!
Posted by: Jim | June 30, 2009 at 08:50 PM
Whens Schumar coming out with a version of CIR 2009? we are eagerly awaiting!
Posted by: Savita_babhi | June 30, 2009 at 07:34 PM
Al Franken position on immigration
http://www.alfranken.com/pages/immigration
Posted by: gg | June 30, 2009 at 01:45 PM
hope hes not a blue dog!
Posted by: royally_screwed | June 30, 2009 at 12:27 PM
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of the state’s disputed 2008 Senate race --- This is good news , add one more to the tally pro immigration democrats ..
Posted by: gg | June 30, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Absolutely right!
Posted by: George Chell on way back to the US | June 29, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Nice article... thx for posting.
Posted by: Legal-immigrant | June 29, 2009 at 09:53 PM
Vote for the SKIL Bill
Posted by: royally_screwed | June 29, 2009 at 07:12 PM
So we have a choice to make in a limited immigration system--whatever the limit is, you can't have more of one thing without less of another (assuming there is a maximum number x that voters will accept).
Isn't Friedman's vision losing ground to the emerging ethnic stakeholders whose potential immigrant members are less educated and thus these leaders and legislators will favor tilting toward indiscriminate family sponsored immigration and away from, e.g., a points system? Greg said points are DOA, right? And won't this power imbalance get even greater post-amnesty considering that 90% of those currently present outside the law and who eventually will become voters are Latin American? It is theorized that amnesty strengthens Democratic power which is already flirting with left sounding labor commissions who will tilt things in one direction or the other? I think we know which way that would be.
Posted by: Jack | June 29, 2009 at 06:33 PM