Perhaps no other topic fuels more heated debate than immigration. Unfortunately, because it is so emotional one is branded a racist if one takes an anti-immigration stance and a bleeding heart liberal if you take a pro-immigration stance. New Politik takes on this issue from a pragmatic point of view. What value does the immigrant bring to our country. If the immigrant has a skill or an advanced degree in Math or Science we should welcome them with open arms; however, if the immigrant is low skilled and will only fill entry level jobs one must reconsider.

The bubble economy (fueled by the mortgage derivative market) created an artificial labor market. Our unemployment had reached all time lows at the same time illegal immigration had reached an all time high. During the bubble economy one could say that illegal immigrants were taking jobs that Americans did not want. This is no longer the case. We need the unskilled jobs the illegal immigrants have traditionally filled. Our economy is unbalanced...there is a shortage of engineers,doctors, physicist and chemists yet we have a glut of unskilled workers and liberal arts educated professionals.

We need to retain college educated immigrants to fill the highly technical jobs our blue chip companies produce. Paradoxically, we also need to limit illegal immigration to ensure we have an adequate supply of blue collar and low skill jobs. Political realism is all about saying things how they are. Generally, our pop culture obsessed youth do not have the self discipline to strive for the more intensive majors (math & science). College is more about the best party school and a social experience rather than the serious academic challenge immigrants see it as. We need the Indian, Russian and Thai students...they will be the ones who will support our high tech economy. This being said, any student that obtains a PhD in any of the needed fields would be provided with a Green Card. Conversely, we would dramatically increase enforcement of businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Our immigration policy sounds cold...and indeed it is pragmatism that runs through our policies not emotion. The United States is still a place where the best and brightest want to live. We would be foolish to turn away talented people while we still have standing in the world to attract smart, accomplished people. Conversely, our schools are graduating native born with very few skill they will need to succeed in tomorrow's economy. Many American students take the easy way out...a liberal arts education (political science, sociology, psychology, English literature). These are all disciplines that have value and bring texture to our modern thought and culture; however, the reason most students choose these discipline is because they are less rigorous. A society first must ensure we have the skills necessary to compete and provide for our society. Not everyone can be a physicist or a chemist...however, those that do have the intellect and ability to excel in these challenging discipline should. Our children have been coddled and many simply do not have the self-discipline necessary to study and succeed in the math and sciences...Immigrants do...

Since we seemingly spawn generations of fun-seeking, pop-culture obsessed slackers...we need an influx of talented, committed students from abroad. What we do not need is and endless stream of low wage, low skill workers.

Like many Americans I was thrilled when there was a grassroots movement to address the outrage of Wall Street excess. Having listened to numerous interviews with the protesters it reminded me of the anticipation of going out with the hot girl only to find she was boring. The protesters are boring because they have no plan to facilitate change. I thought the Tea Party folks were nuts because Americans are currently taxed at ridiculously low rates. We borrow money to give tax cuts!! At least, however, the Tea Party were able to enact change. It is change that I do not agree with but they organized and have made an impact. The Occupy Wall Street folks do not seem to have a grasp on what they want...Why don't they push to break-up the large banks, why don't they seek to reinstate the uptick rule or eliminate credit default swaps. Demand Congress regulate Hedge Funds and force rating agencies to be independent with no compensation received from those they are rating. Why don't they insist that we investigate the sub-prime loan debacle and look to claw back the money made by the pump-and-dump of all time

The political discourse in the U.S. has degraded to an all time low. We as citizens are to blame. We have allowed our representatives to use our ambivalence. Because we do not follow the issues closely enough it is easy for politicians to use "sound bites" to sway public opinion. Taxes, off shore oil drilling,governmental regulation, abortion, socialized medicine, death panels, clean energy, immigration just mentioning these words immediately evokes a visceral response from the right and the left.

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