Jack Welch has a new mission in life

Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 1:07 PM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1822 -- 2/20/2008 >>>>>

During the 1980s the CEO of GE Jack Welch was nicknamed "Neutron Jack"
because like a neutron bomb he systematically eliminated employees while
leaving buildings intact. He was CEO and Chairman between the years 1981-2001.
Welch was the toast of Wall Street because he was willing to sacrifice
employees for short term profit. Lots of investors got rich from Neutron
Jack's bloodletting at GE.

Welch retired with a net worth of $720,000,000. Unfortunately instead of going
away to sail yachts, or do whatever else retired robber barons do, he and his
wife seem to have a new mission -- pushing for amnesty and for stapling green
cards on the diplomas of foreign students who graduate at our universities.

Pay particular attention to the way Welch lumps day laborers and high-tech
workers into the same category. To him they are all just wage earners.

"current immigration policy kicks out too many foreigners, in the
U.S. on student visas, after they finish their educations. We've
met many of these students, and the irony is that most of them
hunger to put their science and technology backgrounds to work
either launching companies in America or working at one of the
country's high-tech companies, from 20-person startups in Silicon
Valley to Microsoft. In other words, our economy desperately
needs these entrepreneurs, just as it needs day laborers,
to stay competitive.

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http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_08/b4072096690834.htm?origin=e

Immigration: A Reality Check
How do we deal with this complex problem? Try looking at it from a managerial
angle by Jack and Suzy Welch

Do you have a stand on immigration? -- Stephen Barnard, Oxnard, Calif.

We do, and since you asked us this question at a conference, we know you do,
too, rooted in your livelihood as the owner of several avocado farms.
"People are making this issue insanely complicated and political," you told
us. "It's economic. All immigrants are here for is work. If we don't find a
simple, fair way to keep them in this country, it will kill thousands of
businesses."

We're with you. Government estimates say there are around 12 million illegal
immigrants in the U.S. Even if only 6 million of them hold jobs, losing these
workers would erode the viability of the countless industries that rely on
them to fill the least attractive of jobs. Just as onerous, current
immigration policy kicks out too many foreigners, in the U.S. on student
visas, after they finish their educations. We've met many of these students,
and the irony is that most of them hunger to put their science and technology
backgrounds to work either launching companies in America or working at one of
the country's high-tech companies, from 20-person startups in Silicon Valley
to Microsoft. In other words, our economy desperately needs these
entrepreneurs, just as it needs day laborers, to stay competitive.

But we'd go farther. Immigration isn't just an economic issue. It's a
managerial one, and any plan that suggests the U.S. deport illegal workers
violates one of management's cardinal rules: You have to face reality.
Forget the notion that illegals will suddenly heed "the law of the land"
and pack their bags. With the better life America provides, that ain't
happening. Which leaves deportation. But come on, there is no way this country
can send millions of people back where they came from. We can't even figure
out a way to renew drivers' licenses at the local DMV without making normal
citizens feel homicidal. Maybe that's hyperbole, but our point is: The
government has a hard time managing logistics now. Add a surge in activity--a
massive, challenging one--and the system will blow out.

People have to face reality, too, when it comes to laying blame--and taking
responsibility--for the immigration problem. Yes, many immigrants broke the
law entering the country. But our borders were obviously not secure enough.
So let's just say accountability for the problem can be shared and move on to
solutions. Everyone agrees we need to stop the inflow of immigrants with
better border control, whether with walls or technology or both, and that we
must try to expel all convicted felons. Both should be top priorities.
Next, the government needs to design a process that moves law-abiding illegals
out of the shadows. We don't know the precise details of such a process.
Should illegal immigrants pay a $5,000 fine or a $25,000 one?
Should they have to wait three years to become citizens or seven? The answers
hardly matter in the long run. What counts, in the immediate term, is that
immigrants are registered and paying taxes. Imagine the freedom of movement
such a change will unleash in the millions who have been living in fear, and
how much easier it will make the widespread teaching of English, the language
that makes the fullest expression of U.S. citizenship possible.

Now, we don't intend to oversimplify this. It's not a quick-fix problem, nor
is it a new one. Not long ago, we attended a lecture by Sol Gittleman, a
professor at Tufts University and a leading expert on U.S. immigration
history. He gave a narrative--one that would make most Americans cringe in
shame--of how every wave of immigrants to this country since 1620 has tried
ardently, sometimes violently, to stop the next. Indeed, according to
Gittleman, bitter, class-based opposition to immigration, even when fully
legal, is as much a part of American culture as pride in being the world's
"melting pot." No wonder immigration is stirring up such a political maelstrom
right now.

And yet, like you, we believe the storm can be calmed. Not with rhetoric about
principle but with pragmatic managerial action. Millions of immigrants across
the economic spectrum keep our country running, and sending them away makes no
sense. It's time to face reality--and fix it.

Jack and Suzy Welch await your questions. E-mail them at
thewelchway@BusinessWeek.com For their video podcast, go to
www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm

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