VOTE: Should 'Buy American' be part of stimulus?

There used to be a tungsten mine near Bishop, California. It closed because impoted tungsten from China was much cheaper and several hundred workers laid off. Tungsten is a stategic metal used in many industries including the defense. If China blocked tungsten exports to the USA it would cripple lots of industries. Restarting a tungsten mine is possible but would the process would take many years.
Likewise we import titanium from Russia. Strategic materials should be mined in the USA (when possible) even if they needs government subsidies.

 

While I agree with you, the reality is that employers in the US or Canada can care less about the legal status of the individual as long as he or she can do the job for the lowest pay. I was in a few hiring committees in Canada that decided to hire foreigners only because it was cheaper to hire an experienced worker than training local candidates.

As for TN holders not willing to work for less, you have to remember that also Mexicans are eligible. I read an article not too long time ago about Mexican nurses making only 2.5 dollars an hour in Mexico while salaries for nurses in the US were at least 25 an hour. In this case, it is really attractive for US employees to hire Mexican nurses and TN visas facilitates the hiring.

The TN in times of crisis can be difficult to obtain, my wife is an immigration consultant and tells me that although American employers hire Canadian on a regular basis, the reality is that in times like this immigration officials try to find any excuse to deny visas. I don't think H1-B visa holders are having an easier time and green card applications might be put on hold because the difficult economic times.

 

[quoteI wholeheartedly agree that legalizing pot would be a great first step. It's basically giving the government a cut of what's already going on, they'd have to package it properly and be licensed, and it frees up the DEA to prosecute real threats.[/quote]

Only if the government has no role in growing the marijuana. In Canada, the federal government built special medical marijuana grow-ops but the quality was so poor nobody wanted it. Leave production and distribution to the private sector and the government can collect taxes.

The word marriage, however, should be replaced by civil union and applied to all marriage ceremonies which are not conducted in a church/mosque/synagogue/temple by ordained clergy. This way everyone can hopefully agree the word marriage has religious connotations whereas civil union is secular and devoid of inherent religious/anti-religious overtones.