Monthly Archives: April 2013

 Obama’s Immigration

     It seems like the immigration process is off to a good start. According to the Washington Post, a proposal has been made by an eight bipartisan team of Senators for a new class of worker visa for low-skilled workers, improved legal immigration and creation of a 13-year pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who are already in the USA. Labor and Corporation leaders have already agreed on a framework for the idea. After that, it would be very beneficial to those lucky immigrants who would have a real chance to work legally in America. I

     The President is working to solve the immigration problems efficiently. From USA TODAY by Aamer Madhani, Obama’s “political courage” and that of the 8 lawmakers who are working on a framework for overhauling immigration laws will uncover their plan later this month. Obama said that it is time to fix the broken immigration system and attract the best and the brightest that the world has to offer. It is time to give undocumented immigrants a chance for a better job and to welcome them to work and find a place live in America as their own home.  “I want to sign that bill into law as soon as possible,” Obama said. “Let’s get this done, and let’s get this done in a way that keeps faith with our history and our values.”

     The President showed his support for changing the immigration law by holding a swearing in ceremony for new citizens in the White House, something that no other President has ever done before. According to Fox news, 28 immigrants became U.S. citizens at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. They are from over 24 countries, such as Afghanistan, China, Ethiopia, Mexico, Germany, Ukraine, and Peru. Thirteen were members of the US military. In the last 10 years, almost had 83,000 members of the US military have become naturalized US citizens. Allowing young people to join the military to become citizens is a good way for immigrants to become citizens. It is a good for themselves, their family and America. Obama said. “American isn’t just their bloodlines; it’s not just an accident of birth. It’s a fidelity to our founding principles, a faith in the idea that anyone, anywhere, can write the next great chapter in this American story.” This situation shows that the President is committed to helping immigrants, which encourages them to have confidence that  changes are coming.
            Our country needs the small businesses started by immigrates. UPI. The minimum-wage for those foreigners might get work visas for about 400,000 a year. But unions, and Democrats, want fewer foreign workers and higher pay for US workers in the program. “Our primary job creators agree something must be done because immigration is good for America and good for small business,” the Small Business Majority reported. Two-thirds of people agree that immigration is good for small businesses by establishing a qualified, skilled and stable labor force and new immigrant entrepreneurs drive more new business. The retiring workforce should be replaced by developing these young immigrants who will pay taxes. The new immigrants work situation is part of the business of America which it is very important.  

     Some of these immigrants are not interested in becoming American citizens. According to the World Journal, many rich Chinese have already given up their green cards because they have to stay half a year in US but their business is in China. Some of them said keeping American citizenship means they have to pay a huge amount of tax to the US. They also claimed that having an American passport doesn’t give them any advantage. Many wealthy people dream of sending their children to study overseas to obtain vanity degrees. America should consider how to attract these rich people and their children to immigrate here.

     America is a symbol of welcome to immigrants. It is composed of immigrants from all over the world, people looking for the American Dream. Because of the attraction that America will give them a better life than their own country. Since its founding in 1776, America has welcomed immigrants from all over the world. Congress should find a good way to help these new immigrants obtain legal documentation.. Let them get to work instead of wasting time on a long, drawn out process to become legal. America has been the top economic country because it has collected excellent people from all over the world. Right now the economy is climbing out of a crisis and the immigration law system is too slow. We wish the President could make a new system for immigration.

As the use of drone strikes continues by the American government, more debate rages on. In recent news, a federal appeals court has struck down the lawsuit the CIA filed in response to being told they must relay the information on drone strikes to an official. The court upheld the ruling that the CIA must show a judge the records they have on drone strikes. This is a victory in favor of those wanting transparency when it comes to unmanned drones attacking American enemies overseas, and just one occurrence in an ongoing series of battles to have the Obama administration release the records on drone strikes. The government views this as classified material, and has not even admitted to the use of drone strikes as weapons to kill overseas enemies, despite it being a known fact by everyone involved with this conflict.
As time goes on, these newspapers are leaning more towards one side or another on this issue. The New York Times recently published an article titled “Obama’s Nixonian Precedent”, in which the author equates Obama’s use of drones to that of Nixon’s secretive bombing of Cambodia. This refers to several incidents when President Nixon bombed parts of Cambodia in secret, without letting anyone know, despite telling officials otherwise, during the Vietnam War. The author argues that Obama’s use of drones, and his reluctance to admit to or acknowledge their use as weapons against US enemies is very similar to the way that Nixon went about his dealings in Cambodia. Just by comparing President Obama to the shady and guarded techniques of former President Nixon shows that the author feels negatively about Obama’s secretive use of drone strikes. The author goes on to say that “Barack Obama is, of course, no Richard Nixon — we expect better of him. And we deserve the transparency he promised us, not a new version of secret warfare.” showing that while the publication is being critical of Obama’s actions, they are not as severe as Nixon’s ever were. However, this article still shows that the New York Times is definitely leaning more towards the anti-drone crowd now.
Another big news story that has come out about drone strikes is how their destructive power is forcing citizens of Afghanistan to flee their homes. Two of the publications I am following, Fox News and Dawn Newspaper, have the same Associated Press article on their websites that details how people living in Afghanistan are leaving their homes in order to get to safety away from the drones that are dropping bombs all around them. They say they can gear the drones all hours of the day, ad it is becoming to frightening to stay where they are.
While the two publications have the same exact article printed on their websites, it is interesting to note that Dawn Newspaper obviously attempted to make the story more personal. They do this by having pictures of those affected by the drone strikes, such as people physically injured, family members grieving for their loved ones, and the aftermath of the destructive missiles. This is in contrast to Fox News, which prints the story with no accompanying pictures. The addition of the images allows the reader to attach a correct mental image of the incidents, and is an example of Dawn Newspaper’s efforts to show readers the severe negative impacts of drone strikes first hand that people cannot see anywhere else.

http://dawn.com/2013/03/28/afghan-villagers-flee-their-homes-blame-us-drones/
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/28/afghan-villagers-flee-their-homes-blame-us-drones-as-targeted-killings/

Sophia Williams

The immigration reform debate is still being hotly discussed around the nation.  Lawmakers are still hammering out the right language in which to finally include in the proposed immigration legislation that was reached by labor and business.

According to a Huffington Post article, “Immigration Deal Reached by ‘Gang of Eight,’ Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham Say,”  the latest news  is that the Senators who are a part of the “Gang of Eight” (those in charge of tackling immigration reform plans) have agreed upon a bipartisan deal with big businesses and labor (AFL-CIO). The agreement outlines a guest worker program for low skilled immigrants in industries such as construction, restaurant, hotels, etc.  In the article Senator Graham states that “the bill would have three goals: to prevent a “third wave” of undocumented immigrants moving into the United States, to allow employers who can’t find American workers at competitive wages to hire guest workers and to weigh immigration decisions largely on merit rather than family relations.” Also he included that, “Undocumented immigrants will have a path to citizenship, but it will be earned, it will be long, and I think it will be fair” Huffington Post carefully noted that not everyone in the”gang of eight” were on the same page, being that Senator Marco Rubio had said that no deal has been reached as yet and stating “Reports that the bipartisan group of eight senators have agreed on a legislative proposal are premature.” Sen. Jeff Flake is also not certain that a deal has been fully decided on.

A Fox News article, named “Hill Leaders Agree About Progress on Immigration Reform But Say Final Deal Still in the Making,” similar to the aforementioned article discusses the same deal that was crafted between big business and labor, as well as also noting that a fianl deal has yet to be reached. Fox News does enjoy being very analytical and strategic in their news stories and this article proves it by going ahead to include that Rubio is looking to run for president in the 2016 election and that maybe he is using his influence on the proposed bill.  This is in light of his Republican candidates whom took the strong position on illegal immigration.  However, Fox News makes it obvious that there has been a more positive shift in Republican policies around overhauling the current immigration policies and using that as a competitive edge in the next presidential elections. Both Huffington and Fox makes the point about the deal that was crafted and how some  in the “gang of eight” are not quite certain on it, however Huffington does not directly get into the politics behind the deal while Fox many times discusses the competitive nature of both political parties.

New York Times concentrates many of the rhetoric around immigration reform on what is best for immigrant families and how creating a responsive immigration legislation can positively uplift and impact immigrant families which subsequently will drive the American economy.  NYT article, “Time to Strengthen Family Immigration,” strongly underscores that Congress should put forth a bill that will help to keep and unite families and greatly strengthen America’s immigration system values. NYT and Huffington Post writings on the latest immigration reform legislation news  argues for the personal lives of undocumented immigrants and their relatives so as to accentuate the positive potential that this legislation  can have on the future lives of present and future immigrants.

Continuing the discussions on deal that the labor group, AFL-CIO, and big business decided on with the eight senators, the National Journal, points out a very precise and detailed reasoning of positive and negative viewpoints in the article, “3 Ways Work Visas Could Still Blow Up the Immigration Bill.”  Akin to Fox News reporting on the this latest deal, National Journal uses strategic analysis to emphasize the potential results this deal could have for immigrants, business, labor, government, and America’s economic future. However, in much more words, this article establishes more as to why the new foreign worker program  for low skilled immigrants can cause more harm than good.  Unlike Fox News, National Journal does not focus more on the fact that not everyone in the “gang of eight” thinks this is a final deal. In the article that is made mention of, but they examined, for example, how the amount of visas to be given each year to prospective immigrants does not match the number of positions needed to be filled by low-skilled immigrants in the workforce. “The prospect of 75,000 visas available seven years from now is not enough to appease business groups or Republicans. Unless labor and business can start talking remotely in the same ballpark, the deal is finished. The AFL-CIO is willing to endorse 200,000 visas per year at some point in the future. That is close to what business groups say they need in terms of numbers, but not in terms of timing,” this quote provides a more clearer understanding of that which I mentioned.

The blog, Immigration Impact, have many articles which speaks on the state of immigrants in their local communities as well as the national response to immigrants from federal lawmakers.  A recent article that considers the importance of a comprehensive immigration reform that calls for strengthening immigrant families and communities and bolstering the economic impact on small and big businesses is “Small Business Owners Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”  The article conveys the overall message from a survey of small business owners who strongly believe in a comprehensive reform that can exponentially impact local economies and communities.  Immigration Impact describes in this article the percentage of small business owners who recognizes a need for comprehensive immigration reform, a need for more low and high-skilled immigrant workers via the worker visa program, and a need for a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants.  And overall, many of them agreed that immigration’s role in the American society is beneficial, positive, and strengthening. Like the Huffington Post and New York Times, Immigration Impact discusses an immigration reform that strengthens and protects immigrant families while being able to provide a small and quick analysis that does not contains heavy details behind the numbers and wording of the reform.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/31/gang-of-eight-immigration_n_2988656.html?utm_hp_ref=immigration-reform

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/opinion/time-to-strengthen-family-immigration.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/31/rubio-warns-that-reports-senate-agreement-on-immigration-reform-are-premature/

http://www.nationaljournal.com/3-ways-work-visas-could-still-blow-up-the-immigration-bill-20130401?mrefid=site_search

Small Business Owners Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform

By Earl Mays

Sources: The New York Times, Reuters, Yahoo, Forbes, The Huffington Post, CNN

The general conclusion made by the news organization is that the market is recovering, but for how long and is another bubble looming.

The New York Times article “Investors vs. Occupants” from the Economix blog questions the sustainability of the housing market. The key perspective sentence of this article reads as follows, “Investors have helped a very depressed market recover, but they have also been outbidding owner-occupants, particularly since many investors can finance their purchases entirely in cash rather than having to wait for a loan.” This sentence reveals the perspective of the piece as overall informative to the consumer as to what is trending in the housing market. The purpose of the article seems to want to get the opinions of its readers.

Yahoo’s The Daily ticker article titled “This Housing Recovery Is Different: Investors Are Now Big Buyers” explores what the large involvement of investors implies for the market in general. The overall perspective of the article is a warning to occupant buyers and investors that the actions may result in another crisis cautioning that “While these investor purchases are boosting the housing market they are also creating more risks because investors are not necessarily in the market for the long-run as the typical individual home owner usually is.”

The remaining articles from CNN’s Fortune, Forbes, Reuters and The Huffington Post are all about the current state of mortgage rates in the recovering market.  The Associated Press article found on The Huffington Post website gives a breakdown of how mortgages rates have changed and looks to want to inform the potential consumer of the current market opportunity. This is seen in this sentence, “The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing.” Reuters adds more encouragement attacking the issue by examining how banks are helping struggling borrowers pay their mortgages. Fortune’s article attacks the same issue but adds a cautionary perspective by suggesting, “Freddie and Fannie could also set the recovery back. Because delinquency is a criteria in Freddie and Fannie’s plan, it risks encouraging other struggling borrowers to fall behind on their payments just to qualify for the program.” Forbes develops a different perspective by looking at another angle that being the reformation of the mortgage interest deduction. The article explains the pros and cons of doing such and concludes that, “the housing market seems to be recovering, and mortgage rates have begun to creep up from their historic lows last summer. The politics of the mortgage deduction will surely change again.”

The housing market recovery is vital to the economy it will be interesting to see the steps that will be taken to prevent further economic issues in the market.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/investors-vs-occupants-in-the-housing-recovery/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130321/us-mortgage-rates/?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=sports

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/03/29/freddie-mac-fannie-mae/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/27/us-usa-housing-foreclosures-idUSBRE92Q0M420130327

http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2013/03/28/this-may-be-the-ideal-time-to-reform-the-mortgage-interest-deduction/

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/housing-recovery-different-investors-now-big-buyers-145259693.html#more-id

Sources: Huffingtonpost, NY Times, NY Daily News

As the debate rages on between what should be the right way to approach the issues with minimum wage, the 2013-2014 budget for New York was passed with mixed reactions to the parts relating to minimum wage, Charlene Obernauer of the HuffingtonPost seems to be very critical of the budget and feels as if the measures passed was just a smokescreen that essentially left the most hard working New Yorkers out of any major benefit. The wage will increase annually for the next three years, but will try to leave tipped workers out of an increase as well as give businesses who hire teenagers a tax break. When you look at it back at the national level, arguments remain whether it should be raised at all or in the case of Christina D Romer of the NY Times we should analyze whether we should even have a minimum wage at all, rather than attack one side of the argument she looks at both sides. Yet overall, the fact that the New York proposal included a tax break for those who hire teenagers seems to be the one thing drawing rage and criticism across all spectrums, not only in the huffingtonpost but in the NY Daily News as well. It’ll be important to see how it develops in regards to the national minimum Wage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlene-obernauer/new-york-minimum-wage_b_2924989.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/waging-war-economics-article-1.1303020