Saving jobs for citizens may not save the economy

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

As the global economic crunch, governments are limiting immigration and foreign work visas to try to keep jobs available for citizens instead of immigrants. This week Australia announced it was limiting immigration limits by 14 percent. Here in the U.S., a provision in the economic stimulus package limits the hiring of foreign workers by any company receiving government bailout money, including all those big banks. It sounds like common sense to protect citizen's jobs, but Vivek Wadhwa, Duke adjunct professor and a researcher at Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program, joins The Takeaway to tell us why he thinks it will hurt the economy in the long term.

"If you now start telling your foreign nationals that we don't want you anymore, and you start to tell companies to fire foreigners before firing Americans, it's a slippery slope."
— Duke University Professor Vivek Wadhwa on new rules on hiring immigrants

Guests:

Vivek Wadhwa

Hosted by:

Farai Chideya

Comments [3]

Unemployed in Detroit

American IT workers have had to train their H-1B replacements in the automotive field and the results have been devastating to the Detroit economy. I want to know how bringing untrained IT workers and firing American wprkers was supposed to be a "win win" situation, a phrase I heard from those who hated American workers. In the Detroit area crime has gone up, poverty has increased and many residents are fleeing the area hoping that a job exists in another town. The sole purpose of the H-1B vias was to bring in workers from other countries so that Americans could be fired from their jobs. Michigan was one of the most prosperous states in the US, now look at, month the month the news reports that DETROIT NOW HAS THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE NATION. Ban the H-1B program and give these jobs back to American citizens.

Oct. 21 2009 02:57 PM

Score: 0/0

debug

Vivek should be called Vivek Fraudwa. He is a profesional lobbyist for India Inc. and NASSCOM. Never believe anything from this liar's mouth. America should take out his American Citizenship because of his Anti-American and Anti-America views.

Jul. 26 2009 11:03 AM

Score: 0/0

Danko

Yes. Let's not lift ourselves so high that we have only one way down -- along a slope so slippery ... .
=d

Mar. 17 2009 03:29 PM

Score: 0/0

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