http://www.suntimes.com/output/othervie ... ref10.html

Immigration reform won't give average American job security
July 10, 2006

BY TOM DASCHLE AND LEO HINDERY JR.

Congress is spending many late nights and much political capital on one of the nation's most challenging "hot button" issues: immigration reform. With millions of undocumented immigrants entering the United States each year, lawmakers are under pressure to stop the flow and determine how best to deal with more than 11 million illegal workers in the country today.

Unfortunately, no amount of immigration reform will give average Americans what they want and need most: a secure, good-paying job. Despite the best intentions of both political parties, Congress cannot effectively address illegal immigration -- or any other major domestic economic issue -- without first finding ways to strengthen and protect America's middle-class jobs, the backbone of our economy.

Much has been written about how the influx of low-wage immigrants has made it more difficult for struggling native-born Americans to find employment. This is true, especially for disadvantaged populations such as school drop-outs, unskilled laborers, and young African-American males.

However, the far more serious threat to America's economic well-being is the ongoing, systematic pressure to eliminate jobs, reduce wages and cut benefits. Nearly 5 million American jobs have moved offshore since 2000. If this trend continues, a staggering 18 million positions in manufacturing, services and information technology will move overseas by 2015. No economy in the world can sustain that kind of loss in all three sectors and hope to remain productive and prosperous.

Although the U.S. economy is creating new jobs, most of these positions are not symmetrical in numbers and quality with those being lost to offshoring. Domestic service jobs paying on average $9,000 or less a year are not an acceptable offset to the loss of high-quality manufacturing, service and IT positions.

An honest accounting of the nation's true unemployment rate would show as many as 10 percent to 12 percent of Americans are currently out of work. In addition, there are several million more people who are underemployed, having accepted jobs with fewer hours and benefits and lower wages.

The American economy is short about 12 million good jobs. Some believe that everything will be fine once we fix our education system, allowing American workers to acquire new skills and forge professional paths. Sadly, this is at best a partial, long-term solution. Our education system still faces decades of needed repair and reform. We also need to consider the special needs of today's unskilled workers as well as those individuals who are late in their careers, with only 10 to 15 years left in the workplace.

Solutions to the jobs issues now plaguing our economy go far beyond immigration reform. Rebuilding our nation's contract with the middle class will require a thorough examination of diverse policies that have fostered offshoring, declining wages and benefits, a broken health care system, and growing income inequality for the 80 percent of American workers characterized as "production and non-supervisory."

Many of these challenges and their solutions are intertwined. For example, effective health care reforms that contain rising costs will eliminate a major impetus for employers to ship American jobs overseas. The same is true for broad pension and Social Security reforms.

To create an economy that can support more higher-wage, higher skilled jobs for all our citizens, we need to provide a significant tax cut for manufacturers, tax credits for U.S.-based R&D expenditures, incentives to invest in good U.S. jobs, and a more-efficient, streamlined government contracting process. At the same time, we cannot allow the benefits from these kinds of domestic investments to be undermined by unfair foreign competition. Therefore, we need an increased emphasis on strict enforcement of existing trade agreements and assurances that future agreements will incorporate responsible anti-subsidy, labor and environmental standards.

Finally, as a nation, we need to explore bold, creative ways to move away from our manic emphasis on consumption-led economic growth toward a more equitable system that rewards savings and investment, encourages renewable development, and values workers at every level. This is a long-term paradigm change, but this national debate needs to begin.

Clearly, integrating America's illegal immigrants into the work force and society is a national priority. However, no political solution to illegal immigration will ever be accepted while America's middle-class workers live in fear of losing their own employment or seeing it diminished.

Americans are relentlessly optimistic. We want the United States to be the embodiment of a meritocracy, where people are judged on their individual abilities and effort. If we focus our energies on systemic ways to help all citizens gain good jobs and financially security, that belief can become a reality.

Tom Daschle was Senate majority leader in 2001-02. Leo Hindery is the managing partner of InterMedia Partners, former CEO of TCI, AT&T Broadband and the YES Network, and author of It Takes a CEO: It's Time to Lead With Integrity.