March 6, 2009

Dr. Norm Matloff writes:

A reader brought to my attention today's panel discussion on the Power Lunch program on CNBC, viewable here.

The discussion concerned Sen. Grassley's request to Microsoft that the firm give American workers retention priority over H-1Bs in layoff decisions, as well as the recent enactment of the Grassley/Sanders restrictions on hiring of H-1Bs by TARP recipients.

By the way, one thing that should be borne in mind in thinking about the high foreclosure rates in new exurbs compared to in old cities is that part of this is an inevitable function of the newness of an exurb. Compare a brand new development in an exurb 80 miles outside of San Francisco that opened up in 2005 to Russian Hill in San Francisco.

Mexicanization continues apace, as shown by numbers from the Census.

Roughly one-fourth of the nation's kindergartners are Hispanic, evidence of an accelerating trend that now will see minority children become the majority by 2023.

Census data released Thursday also showed that Hispanics make up about one-fifth of all K-12 students. Hispanics' growth and changes in the youth population are certain to influence political debate, from jobs and immigration to the No Child Left Behind education, for years.