In The News

Illegal Immigration to US Slows Sharply

Miriam Jordan September 8, 2010
Because of recession and high jobless rates, illegal immigration to the US has contracted sharply, by more than half, in recent years, suggests the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center. “The mortgage crisis and ensuing economic slump have slashed jobs in construction, tourism and other sectors that are the mainstay for low-skilled Latin Americans,” writes Miriam Jordan for the Wall Street Journal. “...

Silicon Valley Expats Spur Innovation in India

Sean Randolph September 2, 2010
As the US tech industry saw rapid growth during the 1990s, immigrating students and workers from Asia heeded innovation’s call. Engineers and programmers from India settled in Silicon Valley and enjoyed immediate success. About one out of six tech startups was launched by immigrants from India. Now some of these tech workers return to India, explains author and trade specialist Sean Randolph....

A Cash-Strapped US Faces Diminished Political Clout

Michael Mandelbaum August 31, 2010
The US continues to confront record budget deficits, high unemployment rates, stagnant revenues and global recession – with no clear end in sight. Individual citizens, worried about rising taxes and health-care costs as well as cuts to traditional programs for the elderly, want to cut spending. Naturally, such a bleak economic outlook results in reduced US expenditures on foreign products or...

Time to Sort Out the Long Overdue Doha Round

Hugh Corbet August 26, 2010
Expanding trade has enriched the world, and completing the Doha Round of negotiations could deliver nations – both rich and poor – from stagnation. The round of World Trade Organization negotiations began in 2001 as an effort to ease poverty by reducing trade barriers. But wealthy nations resist ending protections for their agricultural industries. “By offering to reduce agricultural subsidies...

Manhattan Project: The Great Mosque Divide

Sadanand Dhume August 24, 2010
A proposal to build an Islamic center two blocks away from the target of the 9/11 attacks steadily moved through New York City’s planning process, meeting regulations and winning approval each step of the way. The World Trade Center attacks united the United States for a short while, whereas almost nine years later, the center and plan to “build bridges” raise another in a long line of issues...

The Erosion of America's Middle Class

Thomas Schulz August 20, 2010
An increasing divide between rich and poor limits US consumer spending, contributing to an economic slowdown around the globe. The world’s richest nation continues a downward spiral with foreclosures, joblessness and hunger. The current tax system, along with ongoing pleas to reduce taxes further, directly benefits the wealthiest while dismantling public services that secure the middle class –...

Hot Political Summer as China Throttles Rare Metal Supply and Claims South China Sea

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard August 5, 2010
China holds a monopoly on processed rare-earth minerals, a group of 17 metals with names like thulium and cerium, essential for modern technology. A report from the US General Accounting Service notes that, with businesses lulled by low prices, China has taken the lead in processing the minerals. Writing for the Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard links the lock over rare-earth minerals to new...