Friday, June 27, 2008
Wanted: More Beautiful Workers
I have long argued that the United States should welcome more skilled workers from other nations. A reader sends in an article reminding us that "skills" need to be broadly defined:
By the way, I believe that Congressman Weiner is single.Around 1,000 additional tech workers may get visas to work in the United States next year, and they may have fashion models to thank. That's because foreign-born models and programmers will no longer have to duke it out for the same visa slots if a New York congressman gets his way.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill in the House that would create a new, nonimmigrant classification reserved exclusively for the catwalkers. Currently, foreign models who want to work in the United States require H-1B visas, which are normally used by computer programmers and other high-tech workers.
Weiner wants Congress to amend current visa rules to allow 1,000 foreign models into the United States each year under their own immigrant classification.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wanted: More Skilled Workers
George Will hits the nail on the head:
Two-thirds of doctoral candidates in science and engineering in U.S. universities are foreign-born. But only 140,000 employment-based green cards are available annually, and 1 million educated professionals are waiting -- often five or more years -- for cards. Congress could quickly add a zero to the number available, thereby boosting the U.S. economy....
Barack Obama and other Democrats are theatrically indignant about U.S. companies that locate operations outside the country. But one reason Microsoft opened a software development center in Vancouver is that Canadian immigration laws allow Microsoft to recruit skilled people it could not retain under U.S. immigration restrictions. Mr. Change We Can Believe In is not advocating the simple change -- that added zero -- and neither is Mr. Straight Talk.
The Pigou Club in a Nutshell
From Tim Kane:
we should aim to tax the bad things (noise, gasoline, trash, violent crime, evil foreign dictators) and untax the good things (homegrown profits, employment, innovation).
Don't trust anyone who can't see into the future
Bloomberg reports:
Fortunately, Mr McCain's crystal ball foretold all of these events.[Senator McCain] has shown increasing disdain for any economist who questions his policy prescriptions. Earlier this month, he lashed out at critics of his proposal for a summer gas-tax holiday.
"You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange. "They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.''
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