I thought I saw an article in BBC News that many people in other countries who could travel to the U.S. are choosing to go elsewhere. For example, a British professor who received a travel grant decided to use it to travel to a conference not in the U.S. In addition, travel to the U.S. supposedly is down. Is this seasonal or because of Trump.
Trump’s travel ban is having an effect on doctors for small towns. See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/us/doctor-shortage-visa-policy.html. Many of these small towns depend on foreign doctors because many U.S. doctors aren’t interested in working in low-paying areas.
I wonder how much people leaving the U.S. and people not considering can put a crimp in the support of Trump.
What if all those U.S. residents who are foreign-born decided to go elsewhere? I have many foreign-born friends, some who are also citizens. I would not like to see them leave. But as with the doctors, if large numbers of engineers, professors, programmers moved outside the U.S., would the U.S. economy be hurt enough to get many of Trump’s enablers to abandon him?
What if large numbers of temporary visitors decided to go elsewhere? Would the travel industry feel it enough to complain to politicians.
If this came to pass, I know who Trump would blame: me.
Actually probably not me, but I’m sure he would find lots of scapegoats other than himself.
An additional thought along these lines. How much do U.S. travelers enable other anti-democratic leaders? Could a large enough boycott have an effect on these leaders, or would their countries become another North Korea?
Showing posts with label immigrants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigrants. Show all posts
Monday, March 20, 2017
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Who is the us in U.S.?
Way back when, a bunch of Puritans fled England to practice their religious beliefs. They pushed back the people who were already here. Later, they persecuted Quakers who publicly preached a different religious view.
Opportunists saw large areas of land to raise cotton and tobacco. By hook or crook they laid claims to that land, pushing back the people who were already there. To make matters worse, they bought people who were kidnapped from their homes and put on ships in chains. They put these people to hard work, whipping them if they slacked off or showed any signs of independence. They often quoted select passages from the Bible to justify the situation, completely ignoring “Do unto others…"
Later on, Irish escaped the famine brought on partly because the English took away some of the best farmland. When they came to the U.S., they were often greeted with signs “No Irish need apply!” Now people who have no Irish ancestry celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Swedes came in large numbers for better farmland than was available in Sweden. Because their English was not perfect they were often called “dumb Swedes”. This dumb whatever naming continued when immigrants from many other lands came to the U.S.
Russian Jews had their land expropriated by Tsarist thugs. They fled to the U.S. and made many cultural and business contributions. At the same time they were ostracized by “Christians” and kept out of many groups.
People of European descent kept pushing west taking land from Indians and Mexicans. For a variety of reasons, successive governments in Mexico were often corrupt and did not create an economy that benefited all the people. Many of these people sought jobs in the U.S., often in land that once was Mexico. They are paid lower wages than those whose ancestors took the land would accept.
The U.S. waged several wars in the Mideast to ensure a supply of oil, often corrupting or overthrowing governments to do so. Many people from these countries fled to the U.S. for a more stable life. Also large corporations hired many of the highly educated of these people because they worked for less and the corporations didn’t have to pay the taxes to educate them.
On and on it goes. “Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” This is directed at people whose families have been here for generations as well as people who have helped enhance the bottom line of large corporations. And how does one go back to where they came from if their ancestors came from many different places?
On top of all of this, the descendants of dissenters who left their homelands now want others to believe just as they do.
“When will we ever learn!”
Opportunists saw large areas of land to raise cotton and tobacco. By hook or crook they laid claims to that land, pushing back the people who were already there. To make matters worse, they bought people who were kidnapped from their homes and put on ships in chains. They put these people to hard work, whipping them if they slacked off or showed any signs of independence. They often quoted select passages from the Bible to justify the situation, completely ignoring “Do unto others…"
Later on, Irish escaped the famine brought on partly because the English took away some of the best farmland. When they came to the U.S., they were often greeted with signs “No Irish need apply!” Now people who have no Irish ancestry celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Swedes came in large numbers for better farmland than was available in Sweden. Because their English was not perfect they were often called “dumb Swedes”. This dumb whatever naming continued when immigrants from many other lands came to the U.S.
Russian Jews had their land expropriated by Tsarist thugs. They fled to the U.S. and made many cultural and business contributions. At the same time they were ostracized by “Christians” and kept out of many groups.
People of European descent kept pushing west taking land from Indians and Mexicans. For a variety of reasons, successive governments in Mexico were often corrupt and did not create an economy that benefited all the people. Many of these people sought jobs in the U.S., often in land that once was Mexico. They are paid lower wages than those whose ancestors took the land would accept.
The U.S. waged several wars in the Mideast to ensure a supply of oil, often corrupting or overthrowing governments to do so. Many people from these countries fled to the U.S. for a more stable life. Also large corporations hired many of the highly educated of these people because they worked for less and the corporations didn’t have to pay the taxes to educate them.
On and on it goes. “Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” This is directed at people whose families have been here for generations as well as people who have helped enhance the bottom line of large corporations. And how does one go back to where they came from if their ancestors came from many different places?
On top of all of this, the descendants of dissenters who left their homelands now want others to believe just as they do.
“When will we ever learn!”
Monday, October 31, 2016
Sleaze Attack on Chobani
The usual suspects are attacking somebody who makes a good-hearted effort to help others.
See “For Helping Immigrants, Chobani’s Founder Draws Threats”, David Gelles, New York Times, 2016-10-31,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/business/for-helping-immigrants-chobanis-founder-draws-threats.html?comments#permid=20314776:20316147
My comment to a reader’s comment about buying more Chobani yogurt follows:
Me too! I stopped eating Chobani yogurt, the best yogurt I've ever had, in a diet experiment. The experiment failed, and I've had a few servings of Chobani since. Maybe I'll eat put Chobani on my oatmeal and granola instead of almond milk. Let's meet hate with love, love of a good product and of a corporation with a heart.
When NYT notified me that my comment was approved, I found that many others had the same sentiment. I didn’t read more than a few dozen comments, but I found no sleaze attacks, only support.
See “For Helping Immigrants, Chobani’s Founder Draws Threats”, David Gelles, New York Times, 2016-10-31,
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/business/for-helping-immigrants-chobanis-founder-draws-threats.html?comments#permid=20314776:20316147
My comment to a reader’s comment about buying more Chobani yogurt follows:
Me too! I stopped eating Chobani yogurt, the best yogurt I've ever had, in a diet experiment. The experiment failed, and I've had a few servings of Chobani since. Maybe I'll eat put Chobani on my oatmeal and granola instead of almond milk. Let's meet hate with love, love of a good product and of a corporation with a heart.
When NYT notified me that my comment was approved, I found that many others had the same sentiment. I didn’t read more than a few dozen comments, but I found no sleaze attacks, only support.
Friday, April 01, 2016
Donald Trump wins!
With a dismal 50% turnout across the nation, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. He received about 40% of the votes in states with a large number of electoral votes, but given the “winner take all rules for the electoral college he easily won the Presidency. Otherwise, he only received 30% in the other states. Hilary Clinton received 50% in these states, and the last-minute Republican alternative candidate received 20%.
This means that Donald Trump received the votes of less than 20% of the eligible voters. Once again, “None of the Above” really won because of the 50% no-shows.
Almost as soon as the projections were made on national TV, the border crossings at Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls, and others started filling up with U.S. citizens seeking resident status in Canada. The websites of all the airlines with trans-Atlantic flights crashed with thousands seeking one-way tickets to Europe. Scandinavian Air and Icelandic Air were hardest hit because of an extremely large number of U.S. citizens wishing to move to Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian countries experienced many demonstrations of Syrian refugees. They were upset that after all their trials and tribulations to get safe haven in these countries well-off Americans were welcomed with open arms.
The stock markets had a 25% drop because so many sold their stocks and put the proceeds into foreign banks. This major sell-off also caused a 25% drop in the value of the dollar against other currencies, especially those of Canada and Europe.
Surprisingly, many multi-millionaires moved to their villas in Switzerland, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Most company boards were not meeting in the U.S., but were conducting their meetings by secure video.
Many Chinese immigrants went back to China, to the “devil” they understood. They could plan their lives and careers much more easily under the Communist dictatorship than under the Trump whimsyship.
H1-B workers left in droves. They thought it would be best to plan when to leave than suddenly have their H1-B status removed. This “brain drain” worsened even more the value of tech companies already hit with the stock sell-off. Software updates and new products were delayed for months if not years. The upside was that older tech workers were suddenly in demand even though their skills were “outdated” Tech companies realized that these workers could be trained in-house for less money than lobbying for H1-B extensions.
Fruits and vegetables became scarce because the migrant workers disappeared. Meat processing almost ceased. Office workers had to vacuum their own floors. Like the H1-B workers, the migrant workers also thought it would be best to leave on their own terms. Unlike the H1-B workers, they could suddenly be put into detention centers.
Many countries around the world sought loop-holes in their treaties with the U.S. Not only did they not think the U.S. would be a reliable ally, but they thought the “toughness” proclaimed by Trump would make them even more vulnerable to any threats by other countries.
This threatened closure of bases also put the U.S. military-industrial complex in a tailspin. Investors sold their shares at steep discounts because they foresaw a much smaller market for military wares as U.S. bases were closed.
Things got so bad that the Republican-controlled Congress was desperately looking for ways to impeach Trump. But even as they considered impeachment, the Capitol was besieged by thousands of Trumpistas who saw their hero threatened. The Capitol police staffing the metal detectors were overwhelmed by protesters carrying pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons.
You did note the date of publication of this post, right?
This means that Donald Trump received the votes of less than 20% of the eligible voters. Once again, “None of the Above” really won because of the 50% no-shows.
Almost as soon as the projections were made on national TV, the border crossings at Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls, and others started filling up with U.S. citizens seeking resident status in Canada. The websites of all the airlines with trans-Atlantic flights crashed with thousands seeking one-way tickets to Europe. Scandinavian Air and Icelandic Air were hardest hit because of an extremely large number of U.S. citizens wishing to move to Scandinavia.
The Scandinavian countries experienced many demonstrations of Syrian refugees. They were upset that after all their trials and tribulations to get safe haven in these countries well-off Americans were welcomed with open arms.
The stock markets had a 25% drop because so many sold their stocks and put the proceeds into foreign banks. This major sell-off also caused a 25% drop in the value of the dollar against other currencies, especially those of Canada and Europe.
Surprisingly, many multi-millionaires moved to their villas in Switzerland, Mexico, and the Bahamas. Most company boards were not meeting in the U.S., but were conducting their meetings by secure video.
Many Chinese immigrants went back to China, to the “devil” they understood. They could plan their lives and careers much more easily under the Communist dictatorship than under the Trump whimsyship.
H1-B workers left in droves. They thought it would be best to plan when to leave than suddenly have their H1-B status removed. This “brain drain” worsened even more the value of tech companies already hit with the stock sell-off. Software updates and new products were delayed for months if not years. The upside was that older tech workers were suddenly in demand even though their skills were “outdated” Tech companies realized that these workers could be trained in-house for less money than lobbying for H1-B extensions.
Fruits and vegetables became scarce because the migrant workers disappeared. Meat processing almost ceased. Office workers had to vacuum their own floors. Like the H1-B workers, the migrant workers also thought it would be best to leave on their own terms. Unlike the H1-B workers, they could suddenly be put into detention centers.
Many countries around the world sought loop-holes in their treaties with the U.S. Not only did they not think the U.S. would be a reliable ally, but they thought the “toughness” proclaimed by Trump would make them even more vulnerable to any threats by other countries.
This threatened closure of bases also put the U.S. military-industrial complex in a tailspin. Investors sold their shares at steep discounts because they foresaw a much smaller market for military wares as U.S. bases were closed.
Things got so bad that the Republican-controlled Congress was desperately looking for ways to impeach Trump. But even as they considered impeachment, the Capitol was besieged by thousands of Trumpistas who saw their hero threatened. The Capitol police staffing the metal detectors were overwhelmed by protesters carrying pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons.
You did note the date of publication of this post, right?
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
The rich create jobs, but rich in what?
As a response to "tax the rich", many say that the "rich create jobs". Hm! How many jobs has Paris Hilton created? Certainly lots of jobs for paparazzi and tabloid writers. How many real jobs have the Wall St. manipulators created?
Today's Star Tribune had an interesting article on how graduate students are being affected the jiggling of grants. See "Debt deal nicks grad students, not others", Jenna Ross.
Given the cuts in Pell Grants, Congress in its great wisdom cut grants for graduate and professional students. Some will say that students shouldn't get "charity". But if we limited education only to those who could afford it, would we have enough educated people to do the innovation that we need to sustain our economy.
Abou Amara is president of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly at the University of Minnesota. He was quoted as saying, "There's a disconnect here. The narrative now is about jobs and innovation. Well, people in graduate and professional school are the people who are going to be creating jobs. We're the people who are going to grow the economy." See "If you want to grow, you have to spend money for seeds."
In the rush to avoid "taxing the rich" and "cutting spending", many ignored that they cut jobs with government shutdowns. The rich hardly noticed, but many small businesses noticed. For example, highway projects were shut down, the contractors laid off workers, and the contractors had shut-down costs that they may never get paid for. The laid-off workers had be be paid unemployment benefits and some had to pay more for their health insurance. Isn't this increased spending and taxing the middle class?
I've seen several articles recently about immigrants starting businesses, especially in the cities. I don't know what portion of new, local businesses are created by immigrants, but I sense it is out of proportion to their numbers. If so, why might this be?
Some of them took risks to be here, and so the risk of starting a business is just one more. They are not accustomed to having health insurance and other benefits, and so they don't consider lack thereof as an impediment to starting a business. Finally, they often have large networks of friends and relatives from whom to draw financial support.
I have two ideas that could encourage more people to start businesses.
The first is universal healthcare. Too many consider this a cost rather than an investment. If more people were freed of the need for a job with "benefits", wouldn't more people risk starting a business? If more people started businesses, wouldn't there be more jobs? If there were more jobs, wouldn't there be more taxes and less costs?
The second is more neighborhood banks. Not only neighborhood in the sense of being located closer to the customers, but neighborhood in being staffed by people from the neighborhood. With the larger banks, one can never be sure who will be in the locally-sited bank from one month to the next. If the staff were more permanent, they would develop closer relations with their customers.
I know this certainly helped me in keeping a business growing. I ran around the track at a YMCA with the president of a local bank. Never mind that it was owned by Carl Pohlad, a Twin Cities billionaire, as part of a small empire of banks; the people were the same month after month and year after year. Because the president got to know me and feel he could trust me, he extended a line of credit to me. I drew on it, I paid it back, I drew on it, I paid it back. I never really succeeded in the business, but how many others who had similar, local treatment succeeded.
Then Pohlad consolidated his banks under one brand, and the personality went out of the local bank. He probably got even richer, but the community was poorer for it.
In summary, it's not the rich in dollars who create jobs; it's the rich in experience and education who create jobs.
Today's Star Tribune had an interesting article on how graduate students are being affected the jiggling of grants. See "Debt deal nicks grad students, not others", Jenna Ross.
Given the cuts in Pell Grants, Congress in its great wisdom cut grants for graduate and professional students. Some will say that students shouldn't get "charity". But if we limited education only to those who could afford it, would we have enough educated people to do the innovation that we need to sustain our economy.
Abou Amara is president of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly at the University of Minnesota. He was quoted as saying, "There's a disconnect here. The narrative now is about jobs and innovation. Well, people in graduate and professional school are the people who are going to be creating jobs. We're the people who are going to grow the economy." See "If you want to grow, you have to spend money for seeds."
In the rush to avoid "taxing the rich" and "cutting spending", many ignored that they cut jobs with government shutdowns. The rich hardly noticed, but many small businesses noticed. For example, highway projects were shut down, the contractors laid off workers, and the contractors had shut-down costs that they may never get paid for. The laid-off workers had be be paid unemployment benefits and some had to pay more for their health insurance. Isn't this increased spending and taxing the middle class?
I've seen several articles recently about immigrants starting businesses, especially in the cities. I don't know what portion of new, local businesses are created by immigrants, but I sense it is out of proportion to their numbers. If so, why might this be?
Some of them took risks to be here, and so the risk of starting a business is just one more. They are not accustomed to having health insurance and other benefits, and so they don't consider lack thereof as an impediment to starting a business. Finally, they often have large networks of friends and relatives from whom to draw financial support.
I have two ideas that could encourage more people to start businesses.
The first is universal healthcare. Too many consider this a cost rather than an investment. If more people were freed of the need for a job with "benefits", wouldn't more people risk starting a business? If more people started businesses, wouldn't there be more jobs? If there were more jobs, wouldn't there be more taxes and less costs?
The second is more neighborhood banks. Not only neighborhood in the sense of being located closer to the customers, but neighborhood in being staffed by people from the neighborhood. With the larger banks, one can never be sure who will be in the locally-sited bank from one month to the next. If the staff were more permanent, they would develop closer relations with their customers.
I know this certainly helped me in keeping a business growing. I ran around the track at a YMCA with the president of a local bank. Never mind that it was owned by Carl Pohlad, a Twin Cities billionaire, as part of a small empire of banks; the people were the same month after month and year after year. Because the president got to know me and feel he could trust me, he extended a line of credit to me. I drew on it, I paid it back, I drew on it, I paid it back. I never really succeeded in the business, but how many others who had similar, local treatment succeeded.
Then Pohlad consolidated his banks under one brand, and the personality went out of the local bank. He probably got even richer, but the community was poorer for it.
In summary, it's not the rich in dollars who create jobs; it's the rich in experience and education who create jobs.
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