Re: Hit the Road, Jacques

From: Christian Weisgerber (naddy@mips.inka.de)
Date: Sat Mar 22 2003 - 17:02:36 MST

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    <EvMick@aol.com> forwarded:

    > Forget "freedom fries." Punish the French with green cards.

    It would be interesting to see this implemented and the results.

    This somewhat ties in with the discussions of immigration policy
    that keep appearing here in Germany and likely elsewhere in the
    E.U.

    Roughly speaking, there are two classes of potential immigrants:

    (A) The desirables. The highly qualified workers, academics, PhDs.
        Especially if there is a shortage of job applicants in the
        respective field, and if the immigrants are happy with pitiful
        salaries.

    (B) The undesirables. The illiterate farmhands, the economic
        refugees.

    (Yes, I'm simplifying.)

    One aspect that tends to get ignored is that there is precious
    little reason for the desirables to emigrate in the first place.
    If you are near the top of the pyramid, why go elsewhere where you
    are ill-respected and worse paid?

    > By slightly loosening immigration rules, we could punish France by allowing
    > more of its talented citizens into America.

    This presupposes that those citizens actually want to emigrate to
    the USA *and* that they are currently barred from doing so, which
    the desirables are not.

    -- 
    Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                          naddy@mips.inka.de
    


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