Globalization Immigration and Free Market Reforms

I find it odd that so many "free market" republicans are so strong in their opposition to one of the major inputs of a free market which is labor. Remember free access to land, labor and capital is what free market free. If we close the border or make it so hard for people to come to the United States we have a closed market and not a free one and a closed economy is less efficient than a free one.

In the age of the information economy where we are competing for the best brains in the world the United State in its infinite wisdom is restricting how many smart people can come into the United States. Right now the US allows only 65,000 h1b visas per year. H1b visa are for those who have Ph.d and Masters degrees. That is 65,000 individuals for all Universities think tanks Silicon Valley start ups Intel and Microsoft combined.

So what do they do when they can't get the talent these companies need? They establish R&D centers where the talent is Bangloor India and China. Individuals with Ph.d's and masters degrees from accredited in Universities will do one of 3 things they will fill a job create a job or leave. If we allowed every Ph.d and masters degree student from around the world we would drain the foreign outsourced R&D centers for their best talent. More jobs would be created in the United States instead of overseas and the surplus and make US companies more competitive.

One of the greatest challenges for our educational system is finding large amounts of educated labor that is willing to work for lower wages than other college graduates especially those trained in the Math and Sciences. When this demand is not met class sizes go up and the quality of education each child receives goes down. The solution is getting large amounts of highly educated labor from overseas. Very few college educated Americans are willing to work in the Bronx but many in New Delhi Mumbai or Beijing would jump at the chance to work there in the United States.