Immigration reform best way to bolster economy, says Randall Stephenson.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The CEOs of several top American companies have announced what they hope to see Congress accomplish during 2014, and one of the key points on their docket is immigration reform.
Business leaders from Aetna, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and many other large corporations met for the 2014 Business Roundtable, where immigration reform became a critical topic of discussion, on Wednesday. The majority of CEOs present agreed that more visas should be made available for highly skilled workers coming into the US.
The Roundtable was headed by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who announced that he and his colleagues see immigration reform as arguably the most important way to bolster the US economy. Allowing easier immigration, they say, would allow more jobs to be filled, thus boosting economic growth and returning the US to where it was before the 2008 recession.
Speaking to reporters, Stephenson said that he has been given indications that momentum on the controversial legislation is picking up considerably, and expects more movement to occur in the coming weeks. He described the problem of immigration reform as one that is not simply Democrat vs. Republican, which he calls a key factor in why it will be pushed through sooner rather than later.
Immigration reform has made significant headway already in the still-young 2014. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) hired a new immigration expert at the end of December to help navigate him and the GOP towards a compromise with House Democrats over last year’s Gang of Eight bill. And earlier this week, GOP leaders announced their proposed amendments to the immigration reform bill that would, among other things, allow for more green cards to people who are spouses of citizens and permanent residents, as well as provide amnesty for nearly 12 million undocumented aliens already in the US.
But the argument that importing workers is better for the economy may not be correct. A report put out by minority news and advocacy site Color Lines on Wednesday says that a record number of domestically brought up African and Latino Americans in the crucial age range of 16-24 are unable to find work.
Allowing them to go unemployed not only hurts the economy, but ultimately hurts their future earning potentials. The money a person makes at their first entry-level job will have an overall impact on how much they earn down the line; by neglecting to employ qualified black and Hispanic youths within the US, the argument could be made that immigration reform is ultimately doing more harm than good.
It’s important to note that the Business Roundtable does not have any direct influence on policy-making and according to the Wall Street Journal, does not actively try to influence the outcomes of elections and like the US Chamber of Commerce typically does. But its highly influential members are taken seriously, and when they say something is important to them, corporate and political America tend to listen.
Founded in 1972, the Business Roundtable’s CEOs are at the heads of companies worth $7.4 trillion in annual revenue, and employ close to 16 million employees. According to their own literature, their stocks comprise over one-third of the US stock market, and they invest $158 billion in research and development per year, which is about 62% of total private research and development spending in the US is annually.
Additionally, their companies pay $200 billion in dividends to shareholders, generate over $540 billion worth of sales for smaller companies, and give $9 billion worth of charity per year.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com