Bloomberg Cites Immigration Reform As Key To Economic Recovery

By Adrianna McGinley

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed an overhaul of the immigration system as a bipartisan key to economic recovery and job creation.

During a speech Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in D.C., Bloomberg proposed reform focused on opening pathways for international students, entrepreneurs and temporary workers, citing that a mere 15 percent of visas are given for economic reasons, a number that he says drastically lessens the U.S. ability to compete globally.

“Allocating only 15 percent of visas based on economics is just terrible public policy, and it really is holding our economy back. In today’s global marketplace we cannot afford to keep turning away those with skills that our country needs to grow and to succeed. It is sabotaging our economy, I’ve called it national suicide, and I think it really is.”

He said the U.S. can no longer rely on its position as the world’s super power of innovation, as other countries emerge as strong competitors.

“America no longer is the inevitable crossroads for enterprise and innovation. Countries from Asia to South America now beckon with opportunity, so the United States simply has to compete like never before for talent.”

Bloomberg cited programs in China offering incentives including tax breaks, affordable loans, and start up capital for those who study overseas to return to China once they graduate. He said not providing a path for these students to remain and work in the U.S. is “about the dumbest thing we can do” since two-thirds of those earning Ph.D.s in computer science or engineering in the U.S. are foreign students.

“We are saying to those who dream of becoming Americans, who dream of coming here to work and start businesses, we don’t need you, we don’t need your sweat or your skills, we don’t need your ideas or your innovations, but nothing, nothing could be further from the truth,” Bloomberg said. “We desperately need immigrants who want to come here to work, who have the skills our companies need to succeed. The American dream cannot survive if we keep telling the dreamers to go elsewhere.”

Bloomberg urged the public to contact their representatives to push for immigration reform.

Entrepreneurship Will Help Get Country Out Of Recession, Says AEI President

By Laura Smith - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

President of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks, said Monday that entrepreneurship, hard work and merit will help guide the U.S. out of the recession.

"Those are the tools to get out of this recession or any other recession,” Brooks said during a discussion hosted by AEI and the the National Chamber Foundation on job creation.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, with California, Michigan, Florida and Illinois being the hardest hit.

Nick Schultz, editor-in-chief of American.com, quoted Wall Street Journal journalist Alan Blinder, saying, “It’s no wonder people have three things on their minds: jobs, jobs and jobs.”

However, Brooks says he thinks Americans care about different things.

“I think Americans care about three things that are actually more fundamental than jobs, jobs and more jobs, which is freedom, individual opportunity and a culture of entrepreneurship.”