1. The misconception of full employment. This proposal seems to be unaware that more than 15 million American workers cannot currently find a full-time job. This includes the officially unemployed, those who recently were officially looking for work and have given up and those who have had to settle for a part-time job.
2. The misconception of a burgeoning job market. The nation has 3.5 million fewer jobs than when Mr. Bush took office. The population has been growing rapidly during that time. Mr. Bush’s advisors apparently have not heard about this.
3. The misconception that the black underclass no longer exists. The Washington Post recently did a major spread on the plight of black men nationwide, relating the horrifying statistic that 40 percent of them are jobless. The stories about the incredible efforts that many of these men make to hold down the most menial of jobs at low pay were heart-breaking. Nearly 40 years after Congress passed laws to provide for the full assimilation of black Americans into the country’s political, social and economic life, the lack of job opportunities for these descendants of the American slavery system is scandalous. But apparently in the White House view, none of these men is looking for a job.
4. The misconception that the Americans With Disabilities Act has done its job. This crown jewel of the first Pres. Bush’s presidency was supposed to eliminate barriers to the nation making use of the talents and energies of the millions of disabled Americans. Instead, recent reports indicate, it has been a colossal failure as most disabled Americans who want to work still can’t find jobs. The White House seems to be unaware that businesses have preferred the physically strong foreign workers (more than 10 million of them have been provided over the last decade) to physically handicapped American workers.
5. The misconception that current American workers in meatpacking plants, agricultural fields, restaurants, hotels and constructions are paid too much. Millions of Americans in these and other occupations work but cannot support their families in dignity, often relying heavily on other taxpayers to subside their wages with various forms of public support. These occupations are disproportionately filled with recent immigrants. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney says guest-worker/amnesty proposals like this one are recipes for “large-scale displacement and wage erosion.” Mr. Bush’s proposal doesn’t seem to recognize the law of supply and demand in labor markets and that continually pouring more foreign workers into these occupations guarantees the continuation of working-poor jobs.
6. The misconception that our scientists, engineers, computer programmers and other high-skilled professionals are fully employed and well-paid. In fact, there are alarming rates of unemployment, even greater underemployment and declining wages in these fields. Our bright kids who pursue these fields get out of college and even now often find that businesses prefer hiring through present foreign worker programs. Pay rates for Ph. D. holders in many fields are surprisingly low. American students are well aware of this, helping to explain why such a high percentage of the degrees awarded by U.S. colleges go to foreign students. The President’s proposal opens these fields up to unlimited numbers of professionals from all over the world. The law of supply and demand applies to both high and low skill occupations. John Templeton, a leader of black professionals in the high-tech industry, commented after hearing the President’s proposal: “ Will the last black worker please turn out the lights? We should call this George Bush’s Emancipation Decimation.” Templeton has documented the tech industry’s preference for foreign programmers over black Americans, as tech students at historically black colleges find virtually no recruiters attending their job fairs. A similar situation also befalls Hispanic and women programmers of all ethnicities who are American-born and woefully underrepresented in the high-tech industry.