My objections go beyond that, but may not have been brought up in your discussion with Art. One thing to which I object is various governmental and-or quasi-governmental organizations claiming that there is, or soon will be, a shortage of people in field X when that is not the case. As for your specific point, if the government, which controls (or at least in principle should control) the entry and exit of non-citizens into and out of the country allows the entry of non-citizens under conditions that give those non-citizens compebreastive advantages in the nation's labor market that they otherwise would not have, then the government is acting against its citizens, IMO. The government imposes controls against unfair trade in goods rather than encouraging it, so why should it act in a different manner in the labor market? I think we all know the reason, and the reason is in both cases is $$$ flowing from big business to politicians. IOW the people who are supposed to serve the citizens have sold them out. Beyond that, IMO it is the government's responsibility to act for the good of the citizens, whatever that is. A quote from JFK does not and can not relieve it of that responsibility, which is in principle why governments exist (or at least in principle why the government of the U.S. exists). Now the devil is in the details, I'll grant you.
Cheers, Russell
