America is a country of immigrants. Every so often, however, some
Americans want to close our borders to all outsiders. This desire not
only is inconsistent with our immigrant heritage, it also ignores our
true needs.
Tuesday, the International Herald Tribune reported that the U.S.
needs 843,000 more high-tech workers than our schools are producing.
Wednesday, the same newspaper reported that the Democrats in Congress
are holding up legislation to increase the number of high-tech workers
until we also legalize Central Americans who entered this country
illegally. As usual, the liberals want to harm America and reward law
breaking. But then, what can we expect from a party whose president is a
confirmed sexual pervert?
The sad fact about America's high-tech talent needs is that the gap
between supply and demand will only increase. Why? Because the Baby
Boomers' baby boom is over. Translation: For the next 10 years, fewer
and fewer young adults born in the U.S. will be entering the job market
just as our economy demands ever more young people with high tech
skills.
Another way of saying it is that we are not reproducing fast enough
in this country to provide the people that our economy needs to continue
to grow. As a result, the only way to fill this gap is to
increase the number of legal immigrants who have skills that we need.
Now some will say that the solution is to train more Americans to do
these jobs, not to bring in "foreigners." Well, my friends, there is a
slight problem with that approach. There simply are not enough people in
America with the temperament and aptitude to learn high-tech skills.
Already, many high-tech firms are turning to ex-convicts, welfare
mothers, soccer moms and others who have not been traditionally a part
of the high-tech world for new employees. Yet even with those efforts,
the gap is getting larger.
More important, the need is immediate. Would you advocate flying a
jet plane without a trained pilot because you wanted to produce more
American pilots in five years? The harsh reality is that all of the
American children and young adults who are interested in math and
science are taking math and science courses.
The harsh reality is that for a decade, our society had discouraged
American kids from focusing on the skills that they require in the high
tech world. We have prospered only because of our Indian-American and
Asian American communities and legal immigrants. However, as the
high-tech visa debate points out, we need more "foreigners" if we are to
continue to grow our economy.
This argument probably won't convince everyone. So let me give you
some more data.
We all know that the revolution in Silicon Valley has done wonders
for America's economy. What most Americans don't know, however, is that
Indians and Asian-Americans created 40 to 45 percent of the high tech
companies in the Valley. The brutal truth is that if you take Indians
out of Silicon
Valley, you take the Valley down. So if Silicon Valley is to continue to
grow, we must increase the flow of legal immigration. In fact, if our
economy is to continue to grow, we must do everything possible to make
it as easy as possible for hundreds of thousands of additional bright
minds to
come to the U.S., ASAP.
This doesn't mean that we abandon the American worker. However, it
does mean that we start getting serious about education in this country.
Instead of having three-month summer vacations, for example, let's dump
them for a three-month on, one month off system. Instead of encouraging
our children to watch seven hours of TV a day, lets give them incentives
to learn math and science. Instead of turning to legalized gambling as a
way to drug the masses and earn extra dollars for government projects,
lets close down the casinos and teach Americans the virtues of hard
work, thrift, and entrepreneurship.
However, while we are waiting for Americans to develop the moral
strength to make these difficult changes, we darn well better be
bringing in legal immigrants as fast as we can. Because the continued
growth of our economy and our standard of living depend upon their
presence in the U.S.