Tap into our own educated workers

Re “Visas to prosperity,” editorial, April 7

Corporations claim they need to import more skilled foreign workers while they lay off thousands of experienced American workers. What they really want are temporary employees to whom they can deny health benefits and pensions and to create a surplus of workers in fields where demand might otherwise elevate “prevailing” wages. Instead, what about a federal advanced-skills program to tap the thousands of American liberal arts graduates nationwide working at low-income jobs and the numerous American citizens holding advanced degrees whom our colleges employ part time? Offer well-educated Americans like these one to two years of graduate study in a technical field, and we soon won’t need to import workers.

HOWARD HURLBUT

Redlands