Bank of America just canceled contracts to hire a batch of foreign-born business students, because Congress said its bailout recipients (the “TARP” money) should hire American first. More jobs for Americans? Probably not: B of A can easily outsource the work abroad.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) says we don’t need foreign workers… “there are plenty of qualified Americans.” Even if there are, they might not be in the right place at the right time.
And many Americans also want to work abroad and aren’t helped by limiting the flow of workers into the U.S.
Admittedly, the H-1B visa program, with its red tape and easily exploited exceptions, is a poor substitute for genuinely open labor markets. But even if 20 percent of the 65,000 H-1B recipients hired weren’t bona-fide irreplaceable workers, that’s still 80 percent of visas to specially skilled foreign workers who boost our economy. H-1B is better than nothing, because U.S. businesses can grow faster than the domestic supply of tech-savvy and specialized workers. (Interestingly, no one complains about foreign supermodels, sports stars or actors under H-1B.)
Columbia University’s Glenn Hubbard says the TARP limit on H-1B hires “gives an advantage to international institutions over American institutions.” Foreign companies and universities get the best talent wherever they find it, giving them a competitive advantage against the U.S. Merit-hiring always yields progress.
Artificial hiring restraints hold back productivity and growth. Don’t we need more of those things? U.S. workers need, most of all, opportunities to market their skills. In Business Week, Vivek Wadhwa observes, “foreign nationals residing in the U.S. were named as inventors in 25.6 percent of international patent applications filed from the U.S. in 2006.” That intellectual-property creation drives future industries, which hire (and train) U.S.-based tech workers.
Although these hiring constraints are linked to TARP funds, TARP is becoming a template for regulating corporate America. Bad ideas under TARP have an impact far beyond its recipients.
Yes, recessions can bring on beggar-thy-neighbor policies and populist scapegoating. But that’s no excuse for actually implementing bad policies. Americans who lamented betrayals of our core values in dealing with unprecedented security threats must also lament curtailing of economic liberties equally vital to our national identity.
In the 21st century the best workers, whether from Lahore or Durban, Fresno or Poughkeepsie, will be sought after by the best employers. We should let both sides make the best deals they can because it makes all of us better off—especially the American workforce.