CEPR: Has Education paid off for Black Workers ?

The Center for Economic and Policy Research has a report on education not paying off for Black workers. The report called: "Has Education paid off for Black Workers ?".

Pew Reseach: 46% of African Americans believe there is a lot of discrimination

Pew Reseach has a report on African American perceptions of discrimination. 46% of blacks believe there is a lot of discrimination while only 16% of whites believe the same. The story called "For African Americans, discrimination is not dead" was publish in the fact tank section.

The Verge: Immigration hurts middle class tech workers but helps US businesses

Here is a story from "The Verge" by Ben Popper discussing the impact of H-1B visas on middle class tech workers. It is a called "Is Silicon Valley's immigration agenda gutting the tech industry's middle class ?"

The Global Decline of the Labor Share

Here is the inequality paper everyone is talking about.

The sad truth is here. The Global Decline of the Labor Share.

Wisconsin DWD: Minorities and Women in Construction Trade Apprenticeships 2010

The Wisconsin department of workforce development issued a report in 2010 on the small number of minority and women who participate in construction trade apprenticeships. Trade apprenticeships are one of the most effective ways for non-college youth to earn above market salaries, benefits and job security.

The summary is here: Report Highlights: Minorities and Women in Construction Trade Apprenticeships.

The full report is here: An Evaluation: Minorities and Women in Construction Trade Apprenticeships.

The report had three recommendations: 1) Centrally track the number of minorities and women who apply and participate in Construction Trade Apprenticeships, 2) require local trade committees to develop new affirmative action plans every 5-years, 3) monitor compliance with state requirements to use apprentices on state contracts and 4) give apprentices 180 days to sue for discrimination.

First, you have to admire Wisconsin for going even this far. They actual use the word "Affirmative Action".  And they did created the report which exposed the discrimination by the labor committees.  It is hard to imagine any sort of follow up now that Scott Walker-R is Governor of Wisconsin.

Minorities and Women have long been closed off from participating in these valuable apprenticeship programs. The lack of access is due to pure discrimination: both historical and current.

Few states and cities and been able to do much about the issue due to the "tyranny of the majority" (Tocqueville, Guinier). Essentially, certain types of policies require the support of the majority to be workable. Policies to reduce discrimination are frequently thwarted by a majority who believe minorities increase competition for jobs, lower wages, and steal jobs from non-minorities.  Many construction workers also have a sense of "entitlement to employment"  not seen in other job categories.

So, this is about three years to late, but hats off to Wisconsin's department of workforce development.

v1.

Remarks by Alan Kruger on Rock n' Roll Economy

Alan Kruger, Chairman of the Presidents Council of Economic Advisers, discusses how the US economy has changed using musical artists as example.  It's an interesting example but very short on what to do about the market dynamics of the recording industry or what role government could play in helping artists who don't make it big.

Remarks by Alan Kruger on Rock n' Roll Economy

Senators propose amendment "to hire Americans before hiring foreigners on work visas."

Here is an immigration story that got no coverage.  Senators Sherrod Brown of D-Ohio and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) proposed an amendment to the immigration bill that would create a legal requirement that US companies hire American citizens before hiring foreign visa workers.  The amendment would also require companies to pay prevailing wages.

The H1-B Visa program has come under a lot of scrutiny lately because of high unemployment rates during the recession. The top 10 companies using H1-B visas are all outsourcing companies and they take more than 50 percent of the H1-B visa quota.

The H1-B visa program was supposed to be a short term fix for shortages in certain labor categories like software engineering and chemical engineering.  Instead it has been taken over by the outsourcing industry.  Much the way companies shed cafeteria and maintenance staff during the 1990s, they also shed IT staff during 2000s. The outsourcing industry is led by large consulting companies like IBM, Accenture, Infosys and EDS.

The amendment had the opposition from the business community for several reasons: it would raise labor costs of H1-B visa workers, it had enforcement provisions which would create a risk of non-compliance, and it would increase administrative cost.

Senator Sherrod Brown Press Release: Give American Workers a Fair Shot at High Skilled Jobs.

Senator Grassely works to eliminate fraud and abuse in H1-B visa program.

Cleveland Plain Dealer / Cleveland.Com: Sherrod votes Yes. 

The proposal is very much in line with the proposed immigration policy of the Evil Black Economist blog.  The policy is that immigrant must be tied to the general unemployment rate and specific industry need.  Guest worker programs like the H1-B visa program is needed but many companies are abusing the program to lower labor costs.

Second, the H1-B visa program ultimately stunts US long term competitiveness in an important and high paying sector of the economy. The consulting and outsourcing industry had deterred the entry of US workers into tech industry by reducing wages, requiring more experience and specialization and reducing R&D and training.

Thirdly, the reality of improved IT productivity for business is much more complicated. Business has saved much less money than they initially though while IT quality has slipped. Most of the excess profit for IT has instead gone to the large consulting companies and outsourcing firms and their owners and partners. Very little has gone to IT innovation, new IT products or new IT supported processes.

The amendment from senators Grassley and Sherrod is good balance between labor and business interests.  The amendment may appear again when the house of representatives debates immigration reform.