Yet another piece of 154th crappy report that only reveals one side of the story. Why the "American First" policy not mentioned? And those who go the US truly wanna live there for good cos of its respect for civil liberties. In any case, it shows that Sporns can fxxx PAPee by emigrating and be FTs in the US as many have already done!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Sep 1, 2008
US LABOUR SECRETARY SAYS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>America is still open to foreigners
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>The focus is on illegal vs legal immigration, not keeping people out </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Robin Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
US Labour Secretary Elaine Chao is an example of how an immigrant can succeed in America. She could not speak English when she got there from Taiwan in 1961. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AMERICA is not turning its back on the world, and still very much welcomes foreigners to its shores to work.
The impression that the United States does not welcome foreign professionals is one which US Secretary of Labour Elaine Chao, 55, whose job it is to keep the 154 million working Americans happy, wants to dispel.
She was speaking to The Straits Times in an exclusive interview during a visit to Singapore, after being in Beijing where she headed the US presidential delegation at the closing ceremony for the Olympics.
Ms Chao met Singapore's leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and also received an extensive briefing from Acting Minister of Manpower Gan Kim Yong last Friday.
The US' seeming reluctance to accept more foreigners has become a hot topic. A contentious point in recent global trade talks was the difficulty faced by foreign skilled workers in getting the necessary temporary work visas to enter the US.
The debates between presidential candidates over tightening immigration laws have also given further cause to the impression that America is increasingly turning inward.
But Ms Chao, who is married to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, says that this is not the case.
'We are a nation of immigrants, so most Americans are very open and tolerant of different types of people coming into the country,' she said.
'The immigration debate in America captures the concern over legal versus illegal migration and I don't think the media has made enough of a distinction in presenting this situation.'
Most of the illegal immigrants come from Mexico, which borders the US. The influx of immigrants drives down wages. As they do not pay taxes, there is an added economic burden for Americans.
=> Did not that PAPee dog Gan state categorically that FTrash dun depress wages? Dun you feel like slapping his CB face?
Ms Chao is an example of how an immigrant has successfully carved a career in the US.
In 1961, the eight-year-old arrived from Taiwan on a cargo ship with her mother and two sisters, speaking not a word of English. Yet, she has worked her way up, and in 2001, when she was appointed to President George W. Bush's Cabinet, became the first Asian American woman to hold such a Cabinet position.
While Ms Chao has to deal with American workers losing their jobs due to outsourcing, she said that China, in turn, is also having to grapple with the issue of losing jobs to other lower-cost locations such as Vietnam and Cambodia.
In the face of globalisation, 'we cannot hold back the world', she said.
'The insourcing of jobs far outnumbers the outsourcing of jobs in the American economy. We have tens of millions more American workers who work for US subsidiaries of foreign companies. If we isolate ourselves and erect barriers to our economy, we will put into jeopardy the jobs of these millions of workers.'
What she has emphasised, to cope with these changes, is the retraining of workers to learn and accept new skills for new jobs. The Labour Secretary said: 'We want to equip our workforce... to get good paying jobs in high-growth areas.'
For Singapore, which is facing similar issues, lifelong learning is emphasised as well as the upgrading of those who are less skilled.
Ms Chao said: 'One-third of the jobs in the American economy change hands every single year, so there's tremendous mobility, dynamism and flexibility (within the labour force).'
She estimates that the average American, by the age of 40, will have had 10 jobs.
Ms Chao said that she focuses on productivity, which is one way to measure the effectiveness of the investment in the training and retraining of workers. In 2006, the US had the highest productivity of any country with each working person giving a value added to his job of US$63,885 (S$90,620).
This was ahead of Singapore, which operates at 75 per cent of that productivity level, according to the International Labour Organisation. That works out to about US$48,000.
Another issue for policymakers to deal with is the ageing population. As the US social security system comes under severe strain, Ms Chao admits that it will be a tough issue for the next president to handle.
Even as Singapore introduces a slew of measures in a bid to up its birth rate, Ms Chao, who has no children, said: 'We are very fortunate to be in an era where... women now have greater choices than ever before. Some of these government policies may influence behaviour.' [email protected]
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Sep 1, 2008
US LABOUR SECRETARY SAYS
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>America is still open to foreigners
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>The focus is on illegal vs legal immigration, not keeping people out </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Robin Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
US Labour Secretary Elaine Chao is an example of how an immigrant can succeed in America. She could not speak English when she got there from Taiwan in 1961. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->AMERICA is not turning its back on the world, and still very much welcomes foreigners to its shores to work.
The impression that the United States does not welcome foreign professionals is one which US Secretary of Labour Elaine Chao, 55, whose job it is to keep the 154 million working Americans happy, wants to dispel.
She was speaking to The Straits Times in an exclusive interview during a visit to Singapore, after being in Beijing where she headed the US presidential delegation at the closing ceremony for the Olympics.
Ms Chao met Singapore's leaders, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, and also received an extensive briefing from Acting Minister of Manpower Gan Kim Yong last Friday.
The US' seeming reluctance to accept more foreigners has become a hot topic. A contentious point in recent global trade talks was the difficulty faced by foreign skilled workers in getting the necessary temporary work visas to enter the US.
The debates between presidential candidates over tightening immigration laws have also given further cause to the impression that America is increasingly turning inward.
But Ms Chao, who is married to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, says that this is not the case.
'We are a nation of immigrants, so most Americans are very open and tolerant of different types of people coming into the country,' she said.
'The immigration debate in America captures the concern over legal versus illegal migration and I don't think the media has made enough of a distinction in presenting this situation.'
Most of the illegal immigrants come from Mexico, which borders the US. The influx of immigrants drives down wages. As they do not pay taxes, there is an added economic burden for Americans.
=> Did not that PAPee dog Gan state categorically that FTrash dun depress wages? Dun you feel like slapping his CB face?
Ms Chao is an example of how an immigrant has successfully carved a career in the US.
In 1961, the eight-year-old arrived from Taiwan on a cargo ship with her mother and two sisters, speaking not a word of English. Yet, she has worked her way up, and in 2001, when she was appointed to President George W. Bush's Cabinet, became the first Asian American woman to hold such a Cabinet position.
While Ms Chao has to deal with American workers losing their jobs due to outsourcing, she said that China, in turn, is also having to grapple with the issue of losing jobs to other lower-cost locations such as Vietnam and Cambodia.
In the face of globalisation, 'we cannot hold back the world', she said.
'The insourcing of jobs far outnumbers the outsourcing of jobs in the American economy. We have tens of millions more American workers who work for US subsidiaries of foreign companies. If we isolate ourselves and erect barriers to our economy, we will put into jeopardy the jobs of these millions of workers.'
What she has emphasised, to cope with these changes, is the retraining of workers to learn and accept new skills for new jobs. The Labour Secretary said: 'We want to equip our workforce... to get good paying jobs in high-growth areas.'
For Singapore, which is facing similar issues, lifelong learning is emphasised as well as the upgrading of those who are less skilled.
Ms Chao said: 'One-third of the jobs in the American economy change hands every single year, so there's tremendous mobility, dynamism and flexibility (within the labour force).'
She estimates that the average American, by the age of 40, will have had 10 jobs.
Ms Chao said that she focuses on productivity, which is one way to measure the effectiveness of the investment in the training and retraining of workers. In 2006, the US had the highest productivity of any country with each working person giving a value added to his job of US$63,885 (S$90,620).
This was ahead of Singapore, which operates at 75 per cent of that productivity level, according to the International Labour Organisation. That works out to about US$48,000.
Another issue for policymakers to deal with is the ageing population. As the US social security system comes under severe strain, Ms Chao admits that it will be a tough issue for the next president to handle.
Even as Singapore introduces a slew of measures in a bid to up its birth rate, Ms Chao, who has no children, said: 'We are very fortunate to be in an era where... women now have greater choices than ever before. Some of these government policies may influence behaviour.' [email protected]
