Re: Weaving the Strands: Business, Economics, and Tax Policy 2.0
Here's another area for discussion and forgive me for not reading back, but skills wise, we are hurting. We have tons of students in our masters and PhD programs from other countries, but not so many from here. In the long run its got to hurt us, No?
Let's consider a few things. First, cost. Schooling is expensive, and many masters/PhD students are relying on research grants to fund the schooling, while overseas folk are bringing money with them. Not much else to delve into when cash is involved.
Second, employment desirability. Typically, those with higher education are going to demand more money because of higher skills, and in the case of Fortune 500's and other large companies where pay scales are set by Vice Presidents in accordance with a skill set rubric, will have to start higher, and many people in hiring positions don't want to hire them because the amount of education vs. work experience is very imbalanced. Obviously, in some cases, co-ops are involved, which helps matters, but even self-projects to include in a portfolio are helpful, as it helps to show that you're able to execute the concepts you've learned.
Third, we can't discuss hiring foreign nationals without delving into affirmative action. Many places are still using informal quotas (i.e. nothing rigid) in hiring in order to appear as "not racist". Sure, they'll say that they're equal opportunity employers that hire without regard to race, gender, national origin, and whatever other classification you want to include, but that will be manipulated by casually moving certain groups to the front of the line for interviews, but still feel that they're within EEO because the candidates are still in the pool. Obviously you're going to have "bad fish" to weed out during an interview process, but having had to go through that sort of thing on both sides, pushing people to the front because of these classifications, but finding that they don't possess the execution skills, frustrates employers in terms of not only time waste, but not being able to find what we desire.
Fourth, we should also bring up values. What percentage of Americans, would you say, have some sense, even in the slightest, of entitlement when it comes to their country, state, or even county? And believe me, socialism does not help with remedying this at all, in fact it provokes it. Am I saying that other countries don't have this? No. What I am saying, though, is that people that are willing to place the effort to better their lives are moving to other areas, even other nations, in order to achieve this. This is why, when I recently posted my ideas for welfare reform, that I included a clause about a national search for employment. Canada is doing something very similar, trying to push its immigrants-by-refugee out of Ontario and into places with higher demand, such as Alberta.
