Topic Category: Labor

I'm a nationally syndicated columnist, author of several books and a speaker on global business, labor, and economic trends. I'm also a beneficiary, not a victim, of dyslexia, a learning disability characterized by reading, writing and decoding difficulties. Why do I say beneficiary? Read on.

If you can't find workers, you're not alone. At each keynote speech I give, I ask the audience to raise their hands if it's difficult to hire new employees. Just about everyone raises their hand. I then ask if they have trouble retaining them. Again, nearly everyone raises their hand.

The unveiling of the American Jobs Plan has sparked conversation about what the Biden administration can do for U.S. workers. This is a step in the right direction. However, because this legislation is more fundamentally about infrastructure and new jobs, the question of what the government can do for current low-income workers in particular is still an open one.

The presidential election polls were significantly off in 2020 with President Trump garnering many more votes than pollsters anticipated. Data analyst David Shor argued that the polls were wrong because Democratic voters became more politically engaged than Republicans during the lockdowns and answered more surveys. Rather than a shy Trump supporter phenomenon, there was a loquacious Biden supporter phenomenon. This created a pre‐election blue mirage whereby Democratic support appeared to be much greater than it really was.

The Trump Administration has just issued a proclamation that will restrict the issuance of many temporary economic migrant work visas. The proclamation will go into effect on June 24 at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time. The visas affected are the H-1B visa for skilled temporary migrant workers, the H-2B visa for temporary lower‐skilled non‐agricultural employment, most J visas, and L visas for intracompany transfers.

How illegal immigrants affect crime is one of the most contentious subareas of debate in the entire immigration issue. Cato scholars have produced much original research on this topic, finding that illegal and legal immigrants both have lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans and lower criminal conviction rates in the state of Texas, the only state where data are available.

I often hear people talk about their difficulties in finding a meaningful job or keeping up with increasing healthcare, housing and education costs. These concerns, along with rising income inequality and a shrinking middle class, are provoking anger. For many, trade and immigration have become convenient villains. But that narrative is wrong. Let me tell you why.

The exceptionally low unemployment rate is good news for American workers. But it contributes to a growing problem: companies can’t find enough employees. This puts downward pressure on corporate and U.S. economic growth.

Chérif Chekatt murdered five people and wounded 11 in a recent terror attack in France before being killed by police. Shortly before the attack, President Trump argued with the incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer over funding the border wall. Trump linked his earlier spat with the Democrats and the attack in France when he tweeted: “Another very bad terror attack in France. We are going to strengthen our borders even more.”