'The man who wants to take your jobs'

[Rich Braun]

Anthony Gabrielson <agabriel at home.tzo.org> wrote:
>         You are wrong about America - we still lead technical
> innovation.

Our point of disagreement is this:  you believe innovation happens in America
because of its heritage.  I believe that American-dominated companies will
lead innovation in the future because of their heritage.  If I am right, this
will cause innovation to follow talent wherever it may be from one year to the
next.  It will no longer stay aligned with geographic boundaries.

>  In regards to America welcoming immigrants is also wrong.
> Everyone who has ever come to this country has been
> discriminated against and had a tough time getting going.

I never said immigrants have been welcomed by Americans.  As you suggest,
locals have generally viewed outsiders as competition.  What I said was that
America has been a sought-after destination by outsiders, and also that the
bosses of American employers have long benefited from the skills brought here
by immigrants.

No other place on earth has the same dynamic as here.

> politicians do have a responsibility to help those that are
> here try to make it better for themselves especially in
> global economy where as Americans they will not be accepted
> elsewhere.

Protectionism cuts both ways:  if I understand your point here, then if
American leaders reduce access to American job opportunities by immigrants,
foreign leaders will retaliate by reducing employment opportunities available
overseas to American emigrants.

That's probably true in the short term.  In the long term, what I am
suggesting is that employers will always prefer to hire those with the best
talents and the greatest motivation to do an exceptional job, wherever they
may be.

And I have also suggested earlier in this thread that the number of people we
need to provide all the services required by the 6 billion consumers in the
world will continue to decline.  Somehow we need to provide an income for
those who are not employed (or employable) in cutting-edge roles at the
bleeding edge of innovation.  Eventually, I think, there won't be anything
else we need to invent.  What, then, will we have people do in order to obtain
an income?  The answer can't be clerking at the Walmart or answering the tech
support lines at Comcast (even those jobs are fast becoming obsolete).

-rich