Page 19 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL
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Divided government does not – and cannot – Immigration:
mean gridlock.” An immediate imperative
That was the message from U.S. Chamber of Our immigration system is similarly broken, and like
Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue on a our nation’s infrastructure, it fails to meet the needs
night that left each party claiming partial victory and of our society, our economy, our businesses, and our
holding control of one chamber of Congress. Senate workers. Right now, more than a million legal workers
Republicans expanded their majority while Democrats are at risk of being kicked out of our country (including
picked up more than enough seats in urban and Dreamers), our borders aren’t secure, and our economy
suburban districts to take control of the House. is paying the price.
So what now? The 116th Congress has an opportunity to finally fix
our broken immigration system. But here, too, success
“Now is the time for our elected leaders to train their will require bipartisan consensus and compromise
focus on what can be achieved to keep up America’s in order to reach a deal. Democrats must agree to do
economic momentum,” Donohue said. “There is much more to secure our and enforce our immigration laws,
to do and no time to waste.” for example, while Republicans must stop trying to
reduce legal immigration and agree to provide legal
Question is, what can be achieved? Where’s the status for many who have long resided in this country
common ground, what’s now on the table for the without such status.
business community and a pro-growth agenda, and
what should you be watching for in the months ahead? Commonsense immigration reforms are necessary and
Here are the five things business leaders should know possible in the months ahead, and they would boost
about the midterm results. economic growth, create jobs, and spur innovation and
entrepreneurship.
Infrastructure:
A new road forward America’s workforce:
Closing the gaps
Despite concerns over deepening partisan gridlock,
there’s renewed optimism that leaders in both parties There’s plenty of chatter in Washington about the
could come together to move forward on one issue that possibilities on the two issues above. Conversely,
has garnered widespread bipartisan agreement from there’s very little discussion about what Tuesday’s
voters, Congress and President Trump – rebuilding our results mean for another issue that affects every single
nation’s infrastructure. business across the country: workforce shortages.
Most Americans agree that our nation’s roads, Right now, our country is grappling with two distinct
bridges, mass transit systems, air and sea ports, and but related workforce challenges. There’s the skills gap
other major infrastructure assets are critical to our – that is, that too many people lack the skills necessary
country’s economic success. However, those assets are to compete for available jobs. And then there’s the
in urgent need of repair, maintenance, and sustainable people gap – too many businesses can’t find the
investment for the long term. workers they need, when and where they need them.
Of course, the sticking point has been how to pay When you factor in the retirement of baby boomers,
for those repairs. In order to move forward, especially addiction and incarceration epidemics that have
in this new political climate, compromise will be swept the nation, and technology and globalization
required. Republicans must drop their opposition to factors, the result is more job openings than people
increasing user fees to pay for highways and transit, looking for work.
while Democrats must embrace permitting reforms and
private-sector investments as key ingredients in any Just as there is no one cause, there is no one single
infrastructure deal. solution to our workforce challenges. What we do
know is that business leaders and government leaders
The longer we wait to rebuild our infrastructure, the must work together to address these issues. We are
harder the decisions will be and the more the projects calling on the bipartisan congressional leadership to
will cost. We have a real opportunity to get the job make workforce challenges a top priority under the
done in 2019. new Congress. Working with industry, Congress should
South China Business Journal 15
mean gridlock.” An immediate imperative
That was the message from U.S. Chamber of Our immigration system is similarly broken, and like
Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue on a our nation’s infrastructure, it fails to meet the needs
night that left each party claiming partial victory and of our society, our economy, our businesses, and our
holding control of one chamber of Congress. Senate workers. Right now, more than a million legal workers
Republicans expanded their majority while Democrats are at risk of being kicked out of our country (including
picked up more than enough seats in urban and Dreamers), our borders aren’t secure, and our economy
suburban districts to take control of the House. is paying the price.
So what now? The 116th Congress has an opportunity to finally fix
our broken immigration system. But here, too, success
“Now is the time for our elected leaders to train their will require bipartisan consensus and compromise
focus on what can be achieved to keep up America’s in order to reach a deal. Democrats must agree to do
economic momentum,” Donohue said. “There is much more to secure our and enforce our immigration laws,
to do and no time to waste.” for example, while Republicans must stop trying to
reduce legal immigration and agree to provide legal
Question is, what can be achieved? Where’s the status for many who have long resided in this country
common ground, what’s now on the table for the without such status.
business community and a pro-growth agenda, and
what should you be watching for in the months ahead? Commonsense immigration reforms are necessary and
Here are the five things business leaders should know possible in the months ahead, and they would boost
about the midterm results. economic growth, create jobs, and spur innovation and
entrepreneurship.
Infrastructure:
A new road forward America’s workforce:
Closing the gaps
Despite concerns over deepening partisan gridlock,
there’s renewed optimism that leaders in both parties There’s plenty of chatter in Washington about the
could come together to move forward on one issue that possibilities on the two issues above. Conversely,
has garnered widespread bipartisan agreement from there’s very little discussion about what Tuesday’s
voters, Congress and President Trump – rebuilding our results mean for another issue that affects every single
nation’s infrastructure. business across the country: workforce shortages.
Most Americans agree that our nation’s roads, Right now, our country is grappling with two distinct
bridges, mass transit systems, air and sea ports, and but related workforce challenges. There’s the skills gap
other major infrastructure assets are critical to our – that is, that too many people lack the skills necessary
country’s economic success. However, those assets are to compete for available jobs. And then there’s the
in urgent need of repair, maintenance, and sustainable people gap – too many businesses can’t find the
investment for the long term. workers they need, when and where they need them.
Of course, the sticking point has been how to pay When you factor in the retirement of baby boomers,
for those repairs. In order to move forward, especially addiction and incarceration epidemics that have
in this new political climate, compromise will be swept the nation, and technology and globalization
required. Republicans must drop their opposition to factors, the result is more job openings than people
increasing user fees to pay for highways and transit, looking for work.
while Democrats must embrace permitting reforms and
private-sector investments as key ingredients in any Just as there is no one cause, there is no one single
infrastructure deal. solution to our workforce challenges. What we do
know is that business leaders and government leaders
The longer we wait to rebuild our infrastructure, the must work together to address these issues. We are
harder the decisions will be and the more the projects calling on the bipartisan congressional leadership to
will cost. We have a real opportunity to get the job make workforce challenges a top priority under the
done in 2019. new Congress. Working with industry, Congress should
South China Business Journal 15
