« New Voting Machines Too Costly | Main | Utah County Republican Convention »
Strengthening America
I ran across a great speech by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R, NE). He refers to The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman and says we have three gaps: an ambition gap, an education gap, and a numbers gap. The number’s gap has to do with our declining workforce.
In addition to the growing gap in the quality of our workforce, we also have a problem with the quantity of workers. With falling birthrates, it will be increasingly difficult to fill available jobs in this country. Increasing the size of our workforce through immigration has historically given America’s economy and society a positive boost.
Today, however, America is unintentionally working against its own interests with a contradictory and punitive immigration policy that makes no sense. Obviously, border security is critically important for our national security. However, with our current immigration policies, we are saying, “not welcome” to students, professionals, workers, and others of the world’s next generation, and with limited improvement to the security of our borders. I will soon be re-introducing comprehensive immigration reform legislation that will address these issues.From United States Senator - Chuck Hagel
Referenced Fri Apr 29 2005 06:59:50 GMT-0600 (MDT)
I hope all the Utah County Republicans headed to the convention tomorrow will think about that as they grow rabid of immigration planks in the platform. The kind of zero-sum game thinking exemplified by the proposals works against our future prosperity.
Personally, I think we ought to give an automatic green card to everyone who comes to the US and graduates from an accredited program in math or science. That’s a plank I could support.
Posted by windley on April 29, 2005 06:55 AM
