Immigration permit auction touted as reform that would aid economy

Here is a new and very different idea for immigration permits.   - - Donna Poisl

By Matt O'Brien, Contra Costa Times

America's decades-old immigration system should be replaced with an auction of work permits, says a UC Davis economist who is attracting attention on Capitol Hill.

His market-based reform, which was unveiled Tuesday, would have U.S. companies compete in a quarterly electronic auction to buy permits to hire foreign workers.

In essence, U.S. firms' willingness to pay for work-based visas would become more important than family connections and fixed quotas in determining who gets to move to the United States.

"This would be quite a new system," said Giovanni Peri, a professor who studies labor economics, explaining how it would replace today's first-come, first-served waiting list and random lottery that dictate who gets work visas.
Click on the HEADLINE above to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.