Thomas Friedman points to another example of economic protectionism getting a boost thanks to the recession:
While I think President Obama has been doing his best to keep the worst protectionist impulses in Congress out of his stimulus plan, the U.S. Senate unfortunately voted on Feb. 6 to restrict banks and other financial institutions that receive taxpayer bailout money from hiring high-skilled immigrants on temporary work permits known as H-1B visas.
This is not a case of the Democrats being forced to accept something to get a compromise from Republicans. Republican Senator Charles Grassley sponsored the amendment, but his cosponsor was Bernie Sanders of Vermont--known as one of the most liberal senators.
Why is this bad? It doesn't necessarily reduce immigration--after all, these visas go to temporary workers, not immigrants. But it certainly sends an unwelcoming message to people who want to come work in America. It also shows that the Senate's first impulse is to view foreigners as somehow a threat to our economy.
But the evidence suggests that if we want more dynamism in our faltering economy, we are going to want to be friendly to immigrants. As I've written about before, immigrants are more likely to start businesses than native-born Americans. Immigrant businesses also contribute a substantial amount of business income across the country.
This move by the Senate won't stop any of that. But it's not a good sign for the future.
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