U.S. immigrants gather aid for victims (USATODAY.com)

Grok Headline matches for U.S. immigrants gather aid for victims (USATODAY.com)

As Dems gather, race is tight
(USATODAY.com)

As Dems gather, race is tight
(USATODAY.com) 07/26/2004 07:24 AM
USATODAY.com - The presidential election this year is as tight as the one that took 36 days to settle in 2000. But the battleground is taking a different shape than it did on Election Day four years ago, USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup state polls indicate.

Dignitaries gather for Reagan funeral
(USATODAY.com)

Dignitaries gather for Reagan funeral
(USATODAY.com) 06/11/2004 06:44 AM
USATODAY.com - Tens of thousands of people streamed to the U.S. Capitol Thursday to pay final tribute to Ronald Reagan before a funeral on Friday to be attended by world leaders and a sunset burial in California.

Why the U.S. needs immigrants

Why the U.S. needs immigrants 01/07/2004 03:29 PM

On my way back up towards Boston from Miami I sat next to an Argentine who had been living and working in Washington, DC for many years, lured by a plum job at an international organization.  We talked about the parallels between the current U.S. economy and the Argentine economy circa 2000, i.e., just before their currency collapsed 3:1.  Both economies had been losing manufacturing jobs as goods were imported from China and other centers of cheap highly skilled labor.  Both economies therefore had been running large trade deficits.  Both governments had been pandering to voters with massive spending programs and paying for them with budget deficits and therefore borrowing.  What would, she asked, save the U.S. from suffering the same fate as Argentina?  Esp. now that so many white-collar jobs could be exported to India?

My answer was "People like you! Smart immigrants."  The U.S. has the world's brightest academics, many of them who are themselves immigrants, in its universities.  This lures the brightest young people here to Stanford, Harvard, University of California, Caltech, et al.  Once they've spent 6 years in the U.S. getting a PhD they find that the U.S. offers the best opportunities for building a company or a group within a university and they stay, thus luring the next generation.  Susumu Tonegawa is a good example of the process.  Born and educated in Japan, one of the world's most sophisticated nations, he nonetheless chose to come to the U.S. for a postdoc.  He eventually ended up as a professor of biology at MIT and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1987.  Tonegawa remains at MIT and any young Japanese biologist who wants to learn from him must come to the U.S.  A country that has collected all of the world's smartest people should always be able to do something new, interesting, and profitable.

(A somewhat funnier way to look at the issue is Greek syllogism:

1. every American president must be native-born
2. Americans are smart and therefore always choose the best person to be president, from among the pool of qualified people
3. ergo, George W. Bush is the finest example of a native-born American

And that's why we need to bring in foreigners...)

A sadder way to look at the issue is one that I've brought up before in this blog.  We don't bother fixing inner-city neighborhoods and schools or trying to integrate the poorest Americans into our economy because it is cheaper to bring in immigrants who already have a good education and work ethic.  George W. Bush seems to be expressing this idea in a proposal discussed in today's New York Times:  "Bush Would Give Illegal Workers Broad New Rights":

"... Under Mr. Bush's proposal, which effectively amounts to an amnesty program for illegal immigrants with jobs in the United States, an undocumented worker could apply for temporary worker status here for an unspecified number of years, with all the employee benefits, like minimum wage and due process, accorded to those legally employed.

"Workers who are approved would be permitted to travel freely between the United States and their home countries, the officials said, and would also be permitted to apply for a green card granting permanent residency in the United States.

"Administration officials said that Mr. Bush would also propose increasing the number of green cards issued each year, which is now about 140,000, but they did not provide a specific number. ...

"Mr. Bush's proposals apply to all illegal immigrants in the United States, which officials estimate at 8 million to 14 million people. About 60 percent are thought to be Mexican. No one is certain how many undocumented workers there are among all illegal immigrants, but Mr. Fox has said that some 3.5 million of the workers are Mexican."

So circling back to the original question...  We can be sure that our currency won't collapse because all the world's smartest people live here and also many of the world's hardest-working.  So we can rest easy and take a vacation even.  But perhaps not in Europe where their currency has become 50% more expensive in the last 1.5 years for those of us who hold dollars...

Comments on Why the US Needs Immigrants

Comments on Why the US Needs Immigrants 01/08/2004 08:24 PM

Hmm... the immigration piece below seems to have triggered a bug that we've seen before in Manila, the software that Harvard runs for its blogs.  Comments go into the database somewhere but they aren't linked.  So I've cut and pasted a couple of my favorites here and anyone who wishes to comment on the piece below can do so here...

Matthew T: A more significant difference that will prevent the US from going into Argentine-style collapse in the near term is that US debt is designated in the US currency. As the dollar falls, US foreign debt doesn't grow, the trap that Argentina fell into. In the longer term, foreign trade will be conducted in a strong currency from a large economy: if the domestic plan is to inflate away the deficit, the Euro will usurp the dollar's central role.

John: According to Philip's logic, the great depression should have never happened. Was the US substantially different in 1929? It had tons of smart immigrants from all over the world, and yet the economy suffered a total collapse.

New device for tracking immigrants

New device for tracking immigrants 04/04/2005 01:17 PM
Chicago Tribune Apr 4 2005 5:19PM GMT

'English crucial' for immigrants

'English crucial' for immigrants 09/12/2004 01:15 AM
More than half the members of ethnic minorities in Britain believe immigrants should speak English, a survey suggests.

Thin immigrants get fat in U.S (Reuters)

Thin immigrants get fat in U.S (Reuters) 12/19/2004 03:23 PM
Reuters - Many immigrants to the United States soon get fat, joining an increasingly obese population in their adopted country, researchers say.

Computer Problems Frustrate Immigrants

Computer Problems Frustrate Immigrants 12/31/2003 12:27 AM
Washington Post Dec 30 2003 11:03PM ET

UK's famous immigrants go online

UK's famous immigrants go online 08/27/2004 01:26 PM
The National Archives puts the official records of some of Britain's most famous immigrants on its website.

Imagining Life Without Illegal
Immigrants

Imagining Life Without Illegal
Immigrants 01/11/2004 02:41 PM
Imagine America without the people who flip burgers, clean toilets, watch the kids and send their children to public schools. Would the grass be greener?

Immigrants in Rome Tell of Close Bond

Immigrants in Rome Tell of Close Bond 04/03/2005 09:50 PM
Rome's teeming Catholic immigrant community bid an intensely personal goodbye to a charismatic man who many said had transformed their lives.

Kerry: No licenses for illegal
immigrants

Kerry: No licenses for illegal
immigrants 07/01/2004 01:45 PM

Speedboat immigrants plot foiled

Speedboat immigrants plot foiled 05/29/2004 05:07 AM
Police are questioning two men after 13 Chinese nationals are found on a beach near St Leonards.

Salary test mooted for immigrants

Salary test mooted for immigrants 09/06/2004 10:42 AM
A Tory commission's calls for the UK to refuse work permits to immigrants earning less than £25,000 will be "studied carefully" by party leaders.

Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social
Security With Billions

Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social
Security With Billions 04/05/2005 09:23 AM
The estimated seven million illegal workers in the U.S. provide Social Security with a subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year.

"a bunch of measures like this in regard
to the status and circumstances of
immigrants?"

"a bunch of measures like this in regard
to the status and circumstances of
immigrants?" 01/07/2004 06:08 PM

Canadian government demands nude pix of
stripper-immigrants

Canadian government demands nude pix of
stripper-immigrants 07/28/2004 05:48 AM
Canadian Immigration officials are requiring that exotic dancers looking to enter Canada submit nude photos of themselves dancing, so ensure that they aren't nude-dancer-impersonators, sneaking into the country to do other kinds of work.

The potential dancers have to prove they can dance in the nude, immigration lawyer Mendel Green said Monday.

"They can't be partially nude," he said. "If they don't have pictures in the nude, they are not going to wiggle their bottoms in Canada."

Reg Req'd Link

Local Officers Join Search for Illegal
Immigrants

Local Officers Join Search for Illegal
Immigrants 04/12/2004 10:08 AM
Alabama is the epicenter of a widening effort to encourage states and localities to help enforce immigration laws in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Illegal Immigrants Receive a One-Way
Ticket to Mexico (Los Angeles Times)

Illegal Immigrants Receive a One-Way
Ticket to Mexico (Los Angeles Times) 07/13/2004 05:13 AM
Los Angeles Times - MEXICO CITY — The first repatriation flight of Mexicans caught illegally crossing the Arizona border landed here Monday evening, kicking off a new deportation program that could return thousands of border crossers deep into Mexico.

Mexico defends comic book for illegal
immigrants (Reuters)

Mexico defends comic book for illegal
immigrants (Reuters) 01/05/2005 01:43 AM
Reuters - Mexico has defended a government comic book showing illegal migrants how to cross the border and live quietly in the United States against charges that it promotes undocumented immigration.

Homeland security chief, Tom Ridge,
endorses legalizing undocumented
immigrants

Homeland security chief, Tom Ridge,
endorses legalizing undocumented
immigrants 12/11/2003 06:12 AM
appears not to have gotten that memo

sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-cridge10dec10,0,5230415.s tory?coll=sfla-news-miami
track this site | 6 links

IBM and SCO gather reinforcements

IBM and SCO gather reinforcements 11/13/2003 04:16 AM
ZDNet UK Nov 13 2003 3:40AM ET

Perl6-Gather-0.04

Perl6-Gather-0.04 03/08/2004 11:27 PM

Final Cut Pro Network to gather at NAB

Final Cut Pro Network to gather at NAB 03/14/2003 01:07 PM

Thousands gather at Stonehenge

Thousands gather at Stonehenge 06/20/2004 06:33 AM
More than 30,000 people are expected at Stonehenge in Wiltshire for the annual solstice celebration.

G8 leaders gather for US summit

G8 leaders gather for US summit 06/07/2004 11:47 PM
Leaders from the Group of Eight nations gather for their annual summit in the US, amid tight security.

Let's All Gather Round the Screen

Let's All Gather Round the Screen 02/10/2004 02:55 AM
If the VCR and then the DVD player changed where and how movies were watched, home theaters are changing the experience even more.

Leaders gather for D-day ceremony

Leaders gather for D-day ceremony 06/05/2004 10:55 PM
Almost 20 world leaders and thousands of WWII veterans gather in northern France to remember the D-Day landings.

UK institutes ridiculously difficult
English-proficiency test for
English-speaking immigrants

UK institutes ridiculously difficult
English-proficiency test for
English-speaking immigrants 08/22/2004 07:30 AM
Cory Doctorow: Immigrants to the UK from English-speaking countries such as Canada and Australia must pass an English proficiency test in order to gain UK citizenship. The test is apparently very stringent:

According to one report two Australians, including a knight who has lived in Britain for 44 years and a writer with a degree in English, have been rejected under the new rules.

Link (via Fark)

British mourners gather in rain

British mourners gather in rain 04/08/2005 03:40 PM
Hundreds brave weather in Trafalgar Square for screening of funeral of Pope John Paul II.

Women's Rights Marchers Gather in D.C.

Women's Rights Marchers Gather in D.C. 04/25/2004 11:21 AM
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tens of thousands of women gathered for an abortion-rights rally Sunday as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told several hundred of them the issue is about women gaining full equality.

Women's Rights Marchers Gather in
D.C. (AP)

Women's Rights Marchers Gather in
D.C. (AP) 04/25/2004 09:41 AM

us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http://story.news.yahoo.c om/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040425/ap_on_re_us/women_s_march
track this site | 3 links

1,000 Gather for Slain Student's Funeral
(AP)

1,000 Gather for Slain Student's Funeral
(AP) 04/24/2004 07:59 PM
AP - More than 1,000 mourners packed a resort lodge and overflowed from two tents for the funeral of slain University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, who was remembered for her generous heart and infectious spirit.

TUC gather ahead of national poll

TUC gather ahead of national poll 09/11/2004 09:58 PM
Delegates gather for the TUC conference in Brighton for what could be the last before the general election.

Crowds Gather for Gay Weddings in Mass.
(AP)

Crowds Gather for Gay Weddings in Mass.
(AP) 05/16/2004 04:37 PM
AP - Like fans anxious for concert tickets, same-sex couples waited in line for hours Sunday outside Cambridge's City Hall for an event they once thought they'd never get to experience: marriage. Marcia Hams, 56, and her partner, Susan Shepherd, 52, of Cambridge, showed up at midnight Saturday — a full 24 hours ahead of time — to stake out the first spot in line where the city clerk was to hand out the nation's first state-sanctioned gay marriage applications.

Phone-tap trials gather support

Phone-tap trials gather support 02/05/2005 09:52 PM
Support grows for the use of phone-tap evidence in terror court cases after remarks by England's top police officer.

Bands Gather to Stump Against Bush (AP)

Bands Gather to Stump Against Bush (AP) 08/04/2004 07:45 AM
AP - In an unprecedented series of concerts in nine swing states, more than 20 musical acts — including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks — will perform fund-raising concerts one month before the Nov. 2 election in an effort to unseat President Bush.

Euro 3G Launches Gather Steam

Euro 3G Launches Gather Steam 05/04/2004 02:02 PM
The Feature May 4 2004 5:24PM GMT

TigerTracker sets out to gather
information on Mac OS X v10.4

TigerTracker sets out to gather
information on Mac OS X v10.4 08/20/2004 12:43 AM
MUGnetwork today announced the launch of TigerTracker, a website dedicated to gathering information on Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger. It is currently the world's only resource dedicated to Tiger and gives users easy access to information on Tiger from around the internet. From movies to pictures to descriptions, TigerTracker sorts details by feature such as Spotlight, Automator, and Dashboard. TigerTracker does not require registration and is now open to the public.
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U.S. immigrants gather aid for victims (USATODAY.com)

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