The Best Are Yet to Come

Weekly Standard by Sahil Mahtani & Pierpaolo Barbieri | Oct. 27, 2008 (Opinion)

Raising the share of visas that go to educated immigrants is an idea that ought to be getting a hearing in the presidential campaign, all the more since it is one on which the candidates disagree. While John McCain and Barack Obama both supported last year's immigration bill, agreeing on amnesty and border security, they were pointedly at odds over whether U.S. policy should continue to prioritize family reunification above the admission of immigrants with ... Full Story »

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Dwight Rousu
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 by Dwight Rousu - Nov. 2, 2008

The subject is interesting, but the authors miss a few important considerations. The import of skilled labor from overseas attacks the wages and benefits of U.S. born skilled labor, and is partly responsible for the erosion of the middle class. The claim that there is a shortage of skilled workers in the US is a false and unsubstantiated claim put forward by predatory employers trying to rationalize their search for cheap labor. The import of skilled workers from overseas also creates a brain drain in their home countries, depriving those countries of their best brain power. The yin and yang of skills versus family values is interesting, but not the complete issue.

Mahtani is a Harvard graduate, born in Indonesia, if my google search is telling me right. That may both inform and color his views on the topic.

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