A couple of weeks after Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates lambasted U.S. immigration policy as being overly restrictive in allowing educated, skilled workers into the the U.S., Intel's current CEO and
soon-to-be Chairman went on an even stronger rant. From a Reuters interview with Craig Barrett:
Turning away educated people who want to emigrate to the United States "has to be the dumbest thing in the world," he said....
"We allow people in the United States who are either here illegally and at the lower level of the value-add or work-force chain -- the weak, the sick, the infirm," he added. "We allow everybody in but the value-add people who have educational capabilities and the ability to contribute to the economy.
"If we haven't got it bass-ackward I don't know what we're doing," he said.
Noted Venture Capitalist and TechNet co-founder John Doerr has suggested that the American government should staple a green card on the diploma of every immigrant getting their college education in the U.S.
While Barrett spoke highly of the competitiveness of Asian nations, he also noted that American's shouldn't underestimate Europe, either:
"If you were to look at Old Europe -- UK, Germany, France, Italy -- each one of those governments has officially announced major programs to increase their computer infrastructure," he said.
"It's still a very aggressive place to do business."
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