General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Whoever believes "American jobs for Americans" is racist should give up their jobs now [View all]redgreenandblue
(2,088 posts)I grew up around people from all over the place. I had friends from India, Poland, Korea, Yugoslavia, Italy and several other places that I'd have to really think hard if I wanted to list them all. I wouldn't have it any other way. The idea that countries should remain isolated from each other seems very "foreign" to me.
I can see however how people fear "cheap" competition on the market. The thing is, there has to be an alternative to complete isolationism. For one, I think a company that hires an immigrant needs to be forced to pay the same wage as for a local. That should eliminate several issues from the start. There has to be a reasonable solution that both allows people to relocate if they wish to do that and protect local interests at the same time.
I think it is only fair if local communities give a slight preference to local workers for one simple reason: Some people don't wish to ever re-locate. Those people will always be at a disadvantage compared to people who have already chosen to abandon their birthplace/home. Because once a person decides to leave home, essentially the whole world can be an option. On the other hand, there is only one "home", so the person who wants to stay put doesn't have any other options.
"Free trade" doesn't really concern me. I'm more concerned about the right of the individual to choose where to live. Localized production and consumption does make sense though, already from a energy-efficiency standpoint.