Globalization, immigration and Fortress America

If you listen to American diplomats and business leaders, developing countries must embrace globalization because it is the only way to survive in today’s world. And they are right. Globalization is also something that applies to America. The world’s a global village where trade in goods and services across borders is happening faster than governments can adjust their rules.

Globalization, however, is not just about free trading of goods and services. It should also be about free movement of people across borders. With the paranoia following 9/11, even an immigrant country like the United States has tightened up on immigration.

As a result, less tourist and business travelers visited the United States last year, depressing arrivals by 15 percent. According to The Economist, this is the largest decline since 1983. Visitors spend some $65 billion a year in America, which explains why American business is up in arms. All these new rules meant to put up Fortress America are bad for business.

The Economist also reports that the business lobby is complaining about "the growing queues for visa interviews in non-waiver countries such as Brazil (up to six weeks) and South Korea (up to seven). These are making spur-of-the-moment business travel – often the most productive sort – impossible." The Economist reports that groups such as the Travel Industry Association and the National Business Travel Association have been lobbying Congress to "balance homeland and economic security. "

American business lobbyists are also busy trying to make the American government relax its tough rules on foreign workers. According to The Economist, lobbyists are hoping for progress on two fronts: Getting more exceptions to the sorts of work and levels of experience that make a job count towards the annual H-1B quota, and persuading Congress to put the yearly cap back to 115,000 or so.

The working visa issue is a pretty explosive one now, given the soft job market. In fact, even if the foreign workers don’t set foot in America, Americans have this fear that their jobs will be exported to India, China and the Philippines. There is political pressure for Congress to stop that trend to outsource.

Yet, according to a BusinessWeek column, "some two-thirds of the economic benefit from outsourcing will flow back to the US in lower costs and prices for products, new export opportunities, repatriated earnings, and ultimately new jobs in the US," calculates Diana Farrell, economist at McKinsey & Co. She figures that for every $1.45 to $1.47 of value created globally from offshore outsourcing, the US captures $1.12 to $1.14 and the receiving country on average 33 cents.

Also in the agenda of American business lobbyists is "to fight on behalf of the 11 million undocumented workers it surreptitiously employs. They want a return to the old rule that an employer could sponsor an undocumented employee for a work visa, creating a "path to citizenship." Now anyone who has worked in America illegally for more than a year must go home for 10 years before qualifying for sponsorship.

Fortress America runs counter to globalization. Fortress America goes against the nature of how the world’s economy functions today. They surely need to tighten rules and procedures to prevent the issuance of visas, six months after 9/11, to people like the terrorists who crushed jumbo jets on the World Trade Center. But excessive paranoia is bad for business – America’s and the world’s.

Clean Air Law

As usual, we are making a mockery of our Clean Air Law. We enact a really strict law with standards that rival those in developed countries, but we don’t implement it like we should. Like the drug testing for getting or renewing driver’s licenses, the smoke emission tests are proving to be money makers for some bureaucrats and their favored merchants, but not effective for the purpose of the law.

While stuck in traffic last Monday morning at Meralco Avenue in Pasig, I was able to note at least three vehicles with 2003 registration stickers on their plates but should have obviously flunked the smoke emission tests. Two of the vehicles, a Toyota Tamaraw FX taxi with plate number PXZ 398 and a passenger jeepney plying the Antipolo-Tanay-Crossing route with plate number DWV 943 were profusely spewing pure black smoke. A Corolla taxi with plate number PXJ 153 was smoke belching white smoke, which is just as, if not more, dangerous to health.

My point is, the LTO’s implementation of the smoke emission tests has got to be a joke. The oil companies are importing and refining high quality fuel based on strict standards, but unless motorists make sure their engines are properly maintained, the Clean Air Act is nothing but an expensive PR exercise. As one expert told me, all that nasty vehicle smoke is caused by improper fuel combustion due to inadequately maintained engines.

Maybe Sen. Loren Legarda and all the other authors of the Clean Air Act should organize an oversight committee to check on how the LTO and other government agencies are defeating the intent and spirit of the law through lackadaisical (and corruption ridden?) implementation.

Press Briefing

Here’s a portion of the press briefing with "a senior administration official (American) based on a transcript provided by the US Embassy.

"Q – you’re supplying 20 helicopters?

"Senior Administration Official: Yes, 20 out of inventory that we need to -refurbish.

Q These are old helicopters that you’re retiring anyway?

Senior Administration Official: Yes, these are UH-l, old Hueys, yes.

Hey… it doesn’t matter if the Americans are sending us old helicopters. We need those Hueys badly. Hopefully they send these helicopters soon. In the same briefing, the senior administration official said they are still looking for funds to refurbish the Hueys before sending them over. These old Hueys should blend well with the old planes we just got from Thailand. At least our Air Force pilots will have some planes and helis to fly.

Txt Joke

This is a txt msg someone sent me.

Confirmed! Legarda running for president, picks Recto as running mate! D formula is, Legarda cor Recto equals Mendiola, the gateway to Malacañang!

Boo Chanco‚s e-mail address is [email protected]