kshitijnt
05-12 04:54 PM
USA has a right to choose who they give green card to but not fool Indian people by swinging visa bulletin by 4 years every now and then. Not by discriminating. There should be some transparency to the process and law should be followed. If USA makes a law that Indians wont get GC in EB, I am happy to note. Can they remove their gloves?
wallpaper Paul Teutul Jr. In The News
dixie
02-14 01:49 AM
Spot on. i think the anti-immigrants grossly magnify the hue and cry over H1-B abuses. Most americans dont know what H1-B is and nor do they care. The only immigrants they have heard about are the illegal kind. Ordinary americans are mostly indifferent to legal immigration. Politicians care first for their votebanks (present and future) and second for their sources of funding aka corporate lobbies. They are the ones who have the ability to make a difference.
I think many a times we over analyze things. It does not matter what the common people think about legal immigrants. Most people do not care. Even if they do, it does not affect us in any way, because rules are made by politicians not by men in the streets. And most polticians do care about immigrants, but only the illegals ones, because it is their future vote bank. For legals the only hope is companies like Microsoft, with a big fat wallet. Just pray that the economy keeps going at the current pace or else there could more trouble for us.
I think many a times we over analyze things. It does not matter what the common people think about legal immigrants. Most people do not care. Even if they do, it does not affect us in any way, because rules are made by politicians not by men in the streets. And most polticians do care about immigrants, but only the illegals ones, because it is their future vote bank. For legals the only hope is companies like Microsoft, with a big fat wallet. Just pray that the economy keeps going at the current pace or else there could more trouble for us.
gk_2000
04-20 04:43 PM
No cursing, name calling please.. You could have just ignored. You have done no favour to yourself by replying.
+1
Nathan is one of our valuable members, but with a bit of "angry Lakshman" in him :)
+1
Nathan is one of our valuable members, but with a bit of "angry Lakshman" in him :)
2011 rachael biester teutul.
jfredr
05-24 01:04 PM
It looks like these politicians want to create more and more pain instead helping to get out of the problem.
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sku
09-15 05:13 PM
Can I get link for New POJ method of reaching Nebraska IO.
Anyone Please ?
Anyone Please ?
fatjoe
10-27 04:17 PM
Took an infopass to find out why my spouse's case was not approved. A rude IO told that the background check was not completed yet, and it would take 30-60 days. Asked us to wait for 30-60 days. She looked and talked rude, so I did not ask her "if the background check was started or not". So, the question is how to expedite the background process, so that it will be cleared.
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akred
08-25 10:21 PM
Can you suggest some credit unions please.
Thank you.
The one I use is www.1sttech.com (http://www.1sttech.com). They do not require a SSN or ITIN for this, although you can get an ITIN if needed for account opening purposes.
You do not have to add them as joint owners. They ask you to fill out their form and a W8-BEN, following which you get ATM cards that you can mail to your family overseas.
Thank you.
The one I use is www.1sttech.com (http://www.1sttech.com). They do not require a SSN or ITIN for this, although you can get an ITIN if needed for account opening purposes.
You do not have to add them as joint owners. They ask you to fill out their form and a W8-BEN, following which you get ATM cards that you can mail to your family overseas.
2010 Buddy Valastro and Paul Teutul
sc3
09-24 01:03 PM
This fellow who wrote this might be one of those arm chair critics who just criticizes everything if it doesn't favor that individual. What a moron. I am sure this fellow is clueless about how much effort is put into to make a legislation.
There has been lot of work done by many IV volunteers just to get a bill introduced. It is so stupid just to trash talk the efforts put in by the selfless IV volunteers.
All IV members has to be proud that we have been able to get a bill that addresses the GC backlogs. Hey one year back lawmakers were clueless about EB GC issues. Now majority of the lawmakers atleast have an understanding about EB GC issues. It is a matter of time before we succeed.
The easiest guage for the success of the IV efforts is to see the response U get from the lawmakers when U write to them about GC issues. Earlier U used to get a generic reply about undocumented workers and broken borders, nowadays U would be getting replies that talk about EB immigration. Isn't that an achievement. As a professional aren't U proud that U are give the respect U deserve rather than getting clubbed with undocumented workers. Ask for U'r self?
I agree that person is somewhat misinformed in what it takes to get a legislation passed. No doubt there are so many IV members who have put in hours and hours of selfless work to get things moved. They deserve unreserved accolade for that.
And, for the record, there have been various bills (that eventually ended up in the dustbin) even before IV. IVs major contribution is in decoupling the legal and illegal immigration bills (which again were disengaged in many previous bills, till someone decided that they need to add illegal immigrant provisions to it).
There has been lot of work done by many IV volunteers just to get a bill introduced. It is so stupid just to trash talk the efforts put in by the selfless IV volunteers.
All IV members has to be proud that we have been able to get a bill that addresses the GC backlogs. Hey one year back lawmakers were clueless about EB GC issues. Now majority of the lawmakers atleast have an understanding about EB GC issues. It is a matter of time before we succeed.
The easiest guage for the success of the IV efforts is to see the response U get from the lawmakers when U write to them about GC issues. Earlier U used to get a generic reply about undocumented workers and broken borders, nowadays U would be getting replies that talk about EB immigration. Isn't that an achievement. As a professional aren't U proud that U are give the respect U deserve rather than getting clubbed with undocumented workers. Ask for U'r self?
I agree that person is somewhat misinformed in what it takes to get a legislation passed. No doubt there are so many IV members who have put in hours and hours of selfless work to get things moved. They deserve unreserved accolade for that.
And, for the record, there have been various bills (that eventually ended up in the dustbin) even before IV. IVs major contribution is in decoupling the legal and illegal immigration bills (which again were disengaged in many previous bills, till someone decided that they need to add illegal immigrant provisions to it).
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sanjaymm
12-24 11:21 AM
Freedom and Liberty has been the founding principle of USA. Freedom to change, to improve and to grow has lured immigrants to USA over ages. However, same freedom is denied to LEGAL employment based immigrants. USA boasts of equal rights and opportunity to everyone. However equality is denied to employment based immigrants.
I came to USA in 2001 along with my family, to work as an IT manager. My green card was applied in 2003. I have been dutifully contributing to US economy, in form of my labor and taxes. However, due to immigration laws, I am stuck to a particular job profile. I can not accept any promotions or job enlargement offers. I am even barred from attending full time school, to enhance my skills. My dependents are not eligible to any educational aids, since we are not green card holders yet. I can not buy a house for the fear of losing it. In case of job loss, I have to seek a job in same job profile within 2 months, or loose whatever I have worked hard for in prime years of my life. In spite of paying all taxes, I am not eligible for any kind of unemployment benefits.
I have been waiting patiently for last five year for my green card. Looking at the snail pace of process it will be several decades before, I get it. Has US stopped caring about intellects at all? Why can�t US politicians see a potential brain drain coming?
I request you to take reforming immigration process, making USCIS accountable on top priority. The law should also have a maximum wait period for green card identified. No one should be put through an ordeal of an endless wait.
I came to USA in 2001 along with my family, to work as an IT manager. My green card was applied in 2003. I have been dutifully contributing to US economy, in form of my labor and taxes. However, due to immigration laws, I am stuck to a particular job profile. I can not accept any promotions or job enlargement offers. I am even barred from attending full time school, to enhance my skills. My dependents are not eligible to any educational aids, since we are not green card holders yet. I can not buy a house for the fear of losing it. In case of job loss, I have to seek a job in same job profile within 2 months, or loose whatever I have worked hard for in prime years of my life. In spite of paying all taxes, I am not eligible for any kind of unemployment benefits.
I have been waiting patiently for last five year for my green card. Looking at the snail pace of process it will be several decades before, I get it. Has US stopped caring about intellects at all? Why can�t US politicians see a potential brain drain coming?
I request you to take reforming immigration process, making USCIS accountable on top priority. The law should also have a maximum wait period for green card identified. No one should be put through an ordeal of an endless wait.
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amitga
02-01 03:14 PM
Anti-immigrants can not be able to pick on this, because Retrogression will worsen all these things. Those people will continute to work with those desi consulting companys irrespective of the fact that they have GCs or not, because they cannot stand on their own feet.
If the retrogression goes away then people with good skills can move freely in the market and will be more readily available to the market. In fact that would harm thse companys big time. Currently both good and not so good people are hostage in the hands of these companys and these companys are sort of dictating the makket conditions.
In economic terms the difference is same as Free market and monopolistic market.
could it be that their products work for less? I am not suggesting this: just pointing out that an anti-immigrant will pick up on this to further his cause. anti-immigrants use all kind of stats to show that their products do charge lower rates.
If the retrogression goes away then people with good skills can move freely in the market and will be more readily available to the market. In fact that would harm thse companys big time. Currently both good and not so good people are hostage in the hands of these companys and these companys are sort of dictating the makket conditions.
In economic terms the difference is same as Free market and monopolistic market.
could it be that their products work for less? I am not suggesting this: just pointing out that an anti-immigrant will pick up on this to further his cause. anti-immigrants use all kind of stats to show that their products do charge lower rates.
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mirage
08-19 04:28 PM
And that's never gonna happen. All Green Card seekers have stopped filing in EB-3, they are somehow managing to file in EB-2 by hook or by crook. So until congress changes any Law, every single spill over visa will be consumed by EB-2s and EB-3 India is not going to get a single spill over Visa...
1. I don't see any chances of getting any spill overs in the next two years.
2. There are only 3000 visas available for EB3-I in any given year (7% of EB3 quota). EB3-I will get few more if and when EB3-ROW gets current.
1. I don't see any chances of getting any spill overs in the next two years.
2. There are only 3000 visas available for EB3-I in any given year (7% of EB3 quota). EB3-I will get few more if and when EB3-ROW gets current.
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misanthrope
10-03 11:48 AM
Yes you called sleazy consultants..check your stmnt.
Ok, clearly you did not read what I wrote or you did not understand it. Here is what I wrote..
"Well, I don't think gctest is against EB3. He is against consultants from sleazy bodyshopping companies, which is right.". Some one left me a red saying "not all consultants from sleazy bodyshopping companies are incapable." I agree and I never said that. If I came across that way then I apologize.
Everybody is trying to survive in this world ..diff people react differently to same situation..lying on resume/achievements is not illegal(reason y no body is prosecuted because of this fact..they are simply denied that benefit) however its unethical ..but iam not here to preach ethics.
VERY valid point. But my question is, do you support it?
A fictional scenario to check whether you are ready to take advantage of a loop hole if its in your favour.( A nice quote on this -Everybody likes discrimination when its in their favour and they dont raise their voice then)
Yes, nice quote and very true too. But again, that is not the argument here.
My point to say all companies lie/manipulate things to certain extent..desi consultants atleast dont deprive lives like other BIG companies where shareholders are kept in dark until they realize that company is no more worth anything.
Comparing one wrong doing with another does not justify as an argument. It is actually a logical fallacy. In other words, 2 wrongs do not make a right. Try doing that in the court of law.
Iam not supporting any malpractises are anything anyways this is not a criminal thing its just immoral ..
Malpractices are criminal (if law is violated) but a corporation cannot be tried criminally because it cannot go to jail.:)
You may have noted that I did not bring up morality even though I wanted to because everyone has a different measuring stick for it.
however if theres a loop hole and people want to chance it its upto them. They will be appropriately denied if they are caught, However its not like they are killing anybody.
I totally agree with that. Also, I don't think they will be denied because they did not do anything wrong. System provides them with an option for doing so.
Finally what do you think when even govt is planning to make illegals legals ..its respecting peoples wishes against legal things(ofcourse they get benifitted)Humanity/compassion is number one..rules are for our well being ..they are not hard and fast.
That's a perspective and again 2 wrongs cannot make one right.
Check for your reputation here i think it says some thing.
Yes. It is stupidity by consensus.
Ok, clearly you did not read what I wrote or you did not understand it. Here is what I wrote..
"Well, I don't think gctest is against EB3. He is against consultants from sleazy bodyshopping companies, which is right.". Some one left me a red saying "not all consultants from sleazy bodyshopping companies are incapable." I agree and I never said that. If I came across that way then I apologize.
Everybody is trying to survive in this world ..diff people react differently to same situation..lying on resume/achievements is not illegal(reason y no body is prosecuted because of this fact..they are simply denied that benefit) however its unethical ..but iam not here to preach ethics.
VERY valid point. But my question is, do you support it?
A fictional scenario to check whether you are ready to take advantage of a loop hole if its in your favour.( A nice quote on this -Everybody likes discrimination when its in their favour and they dont raise their voice then)
Yes, nice quote and very true too. But again, that is not the argument here.
My point to say all companies lie/manipulate things to certain extent..desi consultants atleast dont deprive lives like other BIG companies where shareholders are kept in dark until they realize that company is no more worth anything.
Comparing one wrong doing with another does not justify as an argument. It is actually a logical fallacy. In other words, 2 wrongs do not make a right. Try doing that in the court of law.
Iam not supporting any malpractises are anything anyways this is not a criminal thing its just immoral ..
Malpractices are criminal (if law is violated) but a corporation cannot be tried criminally because it cannot go to jail.:)
You may have noted that I did not bring up morality even though I wanted to because everyone has a different measuring stick for it.
however if theres a loop hole and people want to chance it its upto them. They will be appropriately denied if they are caught, However its not like they are killing anybody.
I totally agree with that. Also, I don't think they will be denied because they did not do anything wrong. System provides them with an option for doing so.
Finally what do you think when even govt is planning to make illegals legals ..its respecting peoples wishes against legal things(ofcourse they get benifitted)Humanity/compassion is number one..rules are for our well being ..they are not hard and fast.
That's a perspective and again 2 wrongs cannot make one right.
Check for your reputation here i think it says some thing.
Yes. It is stupidity by consensus.
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house more.
stucklabor
04-08 11:17 AM
Xu1, that is a valid concern. I have sent in this request to admin. But on important issues like this, please do PM admin and other Moderators in addition to public posts. The core group is so drained by all the during the week activities that posts may not be actively monitored during weekends. I think the problem is also logistical, in that we are now getting a lot of checks - which is great, but also now, the core team members handling finances must now take time out to start sending email receipts. So wait for admin and the financial people to get back to you.
Moderators, do you think it's possible to issue an email receipt to contributors? I donated $250 so far and the first $100 was done through my bank billpay.. However, the online billpay deducted the amount right away, and it didn't give me any indication whether the check was actually endorsed by the intended recipient on the supposed delivery date.. Worrying about that, I sent in my second contribution via paypal.
Writing an actual paper check, I would see a copy of endorsement online, or using paypal I would know it's cashed out via email. But this is not the case with my bank's (bank of america) online billpay. Thanks!
Moderators, do you think it's possible to issue an email receipt to contributors? I donated $250 so far and the first $100 was done through my bank billpay.. However, the online billpay deducted the amount right away, and it didn't give me any indication whether the check was actually endorsed by the intended recipient on the supposed delivery date.. Worrying about that, I sent in my second contribution via paypal.
Writing an actual paper check, I would see a copy of endorsement online, or using paypal I would know it's cashed out via email. But this is not the case with my bank's (bank of america) online billpay. Thanks!
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chanduv23
02-01 03:12 PM
There is one more thing that not many people are aware of.
Let me ask eveybody. Even after all this, why are these Desi consulting companys successful in the market? They have poor quality product (People with forged Resume), they are not charging lower rates, but still they are able to put there people in Projects?
there is demand. Lot of demand. Bloating of resumes is common practice. Blaming desi companies only is hipocracy and prejudice.
Mom pop brother companies file for GCs for relatives who work in gas stations, these are not to be compared to regular staffing company. These mom pop companies are formed by immigrant community of various country immigrants in association with lawyers who exploit a loophole in the system. These are not restricted to Indians in general. One morre thing is contract marriages, where agencies + lawyer arrange a contract marriage and get the person here and get citizenship. These are more common with mexican, latino agencies.
A lot lot of shit can be talked about people who want to immigrate in some form or the other, thats why I say "hypocracy" or lack of knowledge by members when they blame IT consulting companies for the situation.
A lot of scrutiny is now in place and consulate officers look at W2s and a lot of things are going on the background to make sure system is used in correct ways.
So if you think you can make a "scapegoat" out of consulting companies and blame them for retro etc.. that may not really help people.
Small, big companies, lawyers, agencies, govt, etc... none of them are neutral. They look for themselves. So consstantly blaming consulting companies will not really help the cause.
Let me ask eveybody. Even after all this, why are these Desi consulting companys successful in the market? They have poor quality product (People with forged Resume), they are not charging lower rates, but still they are able to put there people in Projects?
there is demand. Lot of demand. Bloating of resumes is common practice. Blaming desi companies only is hipocracy and prejudice.
Mom pop brother companies file for GCs for relatives who work in gas stations, these are not to be compared to regular staffing company. These mom pop companies are formed by immigrant community of various country immigrants in association with lawyers who exploit a loophole in the system. These are not restricted to Indians in general. One morre thing is contract marriages, where agencies + lawyer arrange a contract marriage and get the person here and get citizenship. These are more common with mexican, latino agencies.
A lot lot of shit can be talked about people who want to immigrate in some form or the other, thats why I say "hypocracy" or lack of knowledge by members when they blame IT consulting companies for the situation.
A lot of scrutiny is now in place and consulate officers look at W2s and a lot of things are going on the background to make sure system is used in correct ways.
So if you think you can make a "scapegoat" out of consulting companies and blame them for retro etc.. that may not really help people.
Small, big companies, lawyers, agencies, govt, etc... none of them are neutral. They look for themselves. So consstantly blaming consulting companies will not really help the cause.
more...
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paul
04-07 05:56 PM
There are many immigration lawyers with many clients in the same situation as us. Is there any plan to contact these lawyers in the hope that they could make their clients aware of this organization?
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zhongweizhu
04-26 01:33 PM
just fire up $300
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unitednations
03-31 12:28 PM
UN,
I don't mean to embarass you or make you feel awkward by thanking you every time you post, but the excruciating detail that you get into, in your posts, to back your statements never ceases to amaze me, and I know I speak for a lot of people here.
That being said, if I may bother you with one more question.
Lets assume that the 140 is revoked right after the employee leaves, and the employer had 100% abilitiy to pay the employee until that moment.
6 months after the employee left, and after the 140 was revoked, the employer gets an ability to pay RFE on some other pending or unrevoked 140 of theirs. In that case ,can the 140 that was revoked 5 months ago be in danger?
Of course, this is assuming that all AC21 memos till date are considered binding, and no memo changes to AC21 have happened.
USCIS uses three criteria in deetermining ability to pay;
1) net income is more then labor wage
2) net current assets is greater then labor wage
3) person is getting paid labor wage from date of filing labor
#3 is the only one that does not have dependency on employer financials and the # of filings that a company may have done. If person wasn't getting paid labor wage from date of labor filing then dependency is on company financials and if there is adding up together then there is issues.
If in 485 denial it is due to ability to pay and they state so in 485 denial and you were paid labor wage from priority date until you left and were eligible for ac21 then the denial would not have been in error and you would be fine.
I don't mean to embarass you or make you feel awkward by thanking you every time you post, but the excruciating detail that you get into, in your posts, to back your statements never ceases to amaze me, and I know I speak for a lot of people here.
That being said, if I may bother you with one more question.
Lets assume that the 140 is revoked right after the employee leaves, and the employer had 100% abilitiy to pay the employee until that moment.
6 months after the employee left, and after the 140 was revoked, the employer gets an ability to pay RFE on some other pending or unrevoked 140 of theirs. In that case ,can the 140 that was revoked 5 months ago be in danger?
Of course, this is assuming that all AC21 memos till date are considered binding, and no memo changes to AC21 have happened.
USCIS uses three criteria in deetermining ability to pay;
1) net income is more then labor wage
2) net current assets is greater then labor wage
3) person is getting paid labor wage from date of filing labor
#3 is the only one that does not have dependency on employer financials and the # of filings that a company may have done. If person wasn't getting paid labor wage from date of labor filing then dependency is on company financials and if there is adding up together then there is issues.
If in 485 denial it is due to ability to pay and they state so in 485 denial and you were paid labor wage from priority date until you left and were eligible for ac21 then the denial would not have been in error and you would be fine.
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GTGC
06-02 05:16 PM
I called the first three representatives- left VM for 2 and Brian Bilbray's office asked me to fax the material over to thier office.
Did anyone else receive this request? Is there something I can fax over to thier office?
Please let me know - I will call others during my lunch hour tomm.
Did anyone else receive this request? Is there something I can fax over to thier office?
Please let me know - I will call others during my lunch hour tomm.
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485Mbe4001
11-27 12:49 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/opinion/27brooks.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
NY Times Op-Ed Columnist
Follow the Fundamentals
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: November 27, 2007
Lou Dobbs is winning. He’s not winning personally. He’s not going to start winning presidential awards or elite respect. But his message is winning. Month by month the ideas that once prevailed on the angry fringe enter the mainstream and turn into conventional wisdom.
Once there was a majority in favor of liberal immigration policies, but apparently that’s not true anymore, at least if you judge by campaign rhetoric. Once there was a bipartisan consensus behind free trade, but that’s not true anymore, either. Even Republicans, by a two-to-one majority, believe free trade is bad for America, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.
Once upon a time, the fact that hundreds of millions of people around the world are rising out of poverty would have been a source of pride and optimism. But if you listen to the presidential candidates, improvements in the developing world are menacing. Their speeches constitute a symphony of woe about lead-painted toys, manipulated currencies and stolen jobs.
And if Dobbsianism is winning when times are good, you can imagine how attractive it’s going to seem if we enter the serious recession that Larry Summers convincingly and terrifyingly forecasts in yesterday’s Financial Times. If the economy dips as seriously as that, the political climate could shift in ugly ways.
So it’s worth pointing out now more than ever that Dobbsianism is fundamentally wrong. It plays on legitimate anxieties, but it rests at heart on a more existential fear — the fear that America is under assault and is fundamentally fragile. It rests on fears that the America we once knew is bleeding away.
And that’s just not true. In the first place, despite the ups and downs of the business cycle, the United States still possesses the most potent economy on earth. Recently the World Economic Forum and the International Institute for Management Development produced global competitiveness indexes, and once again they both ranked the United States first in the world.
In the World Economic Forum survey, the U.S. comes in just ahead of Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany (China is 34th). The U.S. gets poor marks for macroeconomic stability (the long-term federal debt), for its tax structure and for the low savings rate. But it leads the world in a range of categories: higher education and training, labor market flexibility, the ability to attract global talent, the availability of venture capital, the quality of corporate management and the capacity to innovate.
William W. Lewis of McKinsey surveyed global competitive in dozens of business sectors a few years ago, and concluded, “The United States is the productivity leader in virtually every industry.”
Second, America’s fundamental economic strength is rooted in the most stable of assets — its values. The U.S. is still an astonishing assimilation machine. It has successfully absorbed more than 20 million legal immigrants over the past quarter-century, an extraordinary influx of human capital. Americans are remarkably fertile. Birthrates are relatively high, meaning that in 2050, the average American will be under 40, while the average European, Chinese and Japanese will be more than a decade older.
The American economy benefits from low levels of corruption. American culture still transmits some ineffable spirit of adventure. American students can’t compete with, say, Singaporean students on standardized tests, but they are innovative and creative throughout their lives. The U.S. standard of living first surpassed the rest of the world’s in about 1740, and despite dozens of cycles of declinist foreboding, the country has resolutely refused to decay.
Third, not every economic dislocation has been caused by trade and the Chinese. Between 1991 and 2007, the U.S. trade deficit exploded to $818 billion from $31 billion. Yet as Robert Samuelson has pointed out, during that time the U.S. created 28 million jobs and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.6 percent from 6.8 percent.
That’s because, as Robert Lawrence of Harvard and Martin Baily of McKinsey have calculated, 90 percent of manufacturing job losses are due to domestic forces. As companies become more technologically advanced, they shed workers (the Chinese shed 25 million manufacturing jobs between 1994 and 2004).
Meanwhile, the number of jobs actually lost to outsourcing is small, and recent reports suggest the outsourcing trend is slowing down. They are swamped by the general churn of creative destruction. Every quarter the U.S. loses somewhere around seven million jobs, and creates a bit more than seven million more. That double-edged process is the essence of a dynamic economy.
I’m writing this column from Beijing. I can look out the window and see the explosive growth. But as the Chinese will be the first to tell you, their dazzling prosperity is built on fragile foundations. In the United States, the situation is the reverse. We have obvious problems. But the foundations of American prosperity are strong. The U.S. still has much more to gain than to lose from openness, trade and globalization.
NY Times Op-Ed Columnist
Follow the Fundamentals
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: November 27, 2007
Lou Dobbs is winning. He’s not winning personally. He’s not going to start winning presidential awards or elite respect. But his message is winning. Month by month the ideas that once prevailed on the angry fringe enter the mainstream and turn into conventional wisdom.
Once there was a majority in favor of liberal immigration policies, but apparently that’s not true anymore, at least if you judge by campaign rhetoric. Once there was a bipartisan consensus behind free trade, but that’s not true anymore, either. Even Republicans, by a two-to-one majority, believe free trade is bad for America, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.
Once upon a time, the fact that hundreds of millions of people around the world are rising out of poverty would have been a source of pride and optimism. But if you listen to the presidential candidates, improvements in the developing world are menacing. Their speeches constitute a symphony of woe about lead-painted toys, manipulated currencies and stolen jobs.
And if Dobbsianism is winning when times are good, you can imagine how attractive it’s going to seem if we enter the serious recession that Larry Summers convincingly and terrifyingly forecasts in yesterday’s Financial Times. If the economy dips as seriously as that, the political climate could shift in ugly ways.
So it’s worth pointing out now more than ever that Dobbsianism is fundamentally wrong. It plays on legitimate anxieties, but it rests at heart on a more existential fear — the fear that America is under assault and is fundamentally fragile. It rests on fears that the America we once knew is bleeding away.
And that’s just not true. In the first place, despite the ups and downs of the business cycle, the United States still possesses the most potent economy on earth. Recently the World Economic Forum and the International Institute for Management Development produced global competitiveness indexes, and once again they both ranked the United States first in the world.
In the World Economic Forum survey, the U.S. comes in just ahead of Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany (China is 34th). The U.S. gets poor marks for macroeconomic stability (the long-term federal debt), for its tax structure and for the low savings rate. But it leads the world in a range of categories: higher education and training, labor market flexibility, the ability to attract global talent, the availability of venture capital, the quality of corporate management and the capacity to innovate.
William W. Lewis of McKinsey surveyed global competitive in dozens of business sectors a few years ago, and concluded, “The United States is the productivity leader in virtually every industry.”
Second, America’s fundamental economic strength is rooted in the most stable of assets — its values. The U.S. is still an astonishing assimilation machine. It has successfully absorbed more than 20 million legal immigrants over the past quarter-century, an extraordinary influx of human capital. Americans are remarkably fertile. Birthrates are relatively high, meaning that in 2050, the average American will be under 40, while the average European, Chinese and Japanese will be more than a decade older.
The American economy benefits from low levels of corruption. American culture still transmits some ineffable spirit of adventure. American students can’t compete with, say, Singaporean students on standardized tests, but they are innovative and creative throughout their lives. The U.S. standard of living first surpassed the rest of the world’s in about 1740, and despite dozens of cycles of declinist foreboding, the country has resolutely refused to decay.
Third, not every economic dislocation has been caused by trade and the Chinese. Between 1991 and 2007, the U.S. trade deficit exploded to $818 billion from $31 billion. Yet as Robert Samuelson has pointed out, during that time the U.S. created 28 million jobs and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.6 percent from 6.8 percent.
That’s because, as Robert Lawrence of Harvard and Martin Baily of McKinsey have calculated, 90 percent of manufacturing job losses are due to domestic forces. As companies become more technologically advanced, they shed workers (the Chinese shed 25 million manufacturing jobs between 1994 and 2004).
Meanwhile, the number of jobs actually lost to outsourcing is small, and recent reports suggest the outsourcing trend is slowing down. They are swamped by the general churn of creative destruction. Every quarter the U.S. loses somewhere around seven million jobs, and creates a bit more than seven million more. That double-edged process is the essence of a dynamic economy.
I’m writing this column from Beijing. I can look out the window and see the explosive growth. But as the Chinese will be the first to tell you, their dazzling prosperity is built on fragile foundations. In the United States, the situation is the reverse. We have obvious problems. But the foundations of American prosperity are strong. The U.S. still has much more to gain than to lose from openness, trade and globalization.
purgan
08-14 05:29 PM
IV, please either change the title to "Plight of EB3 INDIA" or close this nonsensical thread.
eastindia
01-11 12:26 PM
What about hunger strike?
It is much bigger than rally. You will get more attention and you do not need thousand people to do it. If we can have even a handful of people or even one person to do it, it will be great. The expenses and preparation to do hunger strike will be very less.
I doubt anyone will want to go hungry for a greencard. People say a lot of things but they do not do it. All these people talking for a rally will not even show up for a rally when it is held. They are too scared to come out and show their faces to the media.
It is much bigger than rally. You will get more attention and you do not need thousand people to do it. If we can have even a handful of people or even one person to do it, it will be great. The expenses and preparation to do hunger strike will be very less.
I doubt anyone will want to go hungry for a greencard. People say a lot of things but they do not do it. All these people talking for a rally will not even show up for a rally when it is held. They are too scared to come out and show their faces to the media.