Ball State University 18-Mar-03
Americans against Selling Citizenship Rights Library: BIZ Keywords: SELLING CITIZENSHIP Description: An increasingly global marketplace is creating a need for freer movement of labor, but Americans are firmly against selling citizenship to the highest bidder, says a Ball State University study.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Borna at sborna at bsu.edu or (765) 747-5191. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)
MUNCIE, Ind. -- An increasingly global marketplace is creating a need for freer movement of labor, but Americans are firmly against selling citizenship to the highest bidder, says a Ball State University study.
Allowing people to freely move across national borders to fill job vacancies makes economic sense, but would be instantly unpopular, said Shaheen Borna, a marketing professor.
His survey of 198 participants found that 67.2 percent were opposed to auctioning citizenship rights. The results were published in 2002 in the Journal of Business Ethics.
"Americans view a selling scheme with considerable skepticism and past public opinions indicate that Americans are not in favor of more immigration," Borna said. "Special interest and pressure groups could also be prominent opponents of revised immigration policies."
The survey found: * About 55.3 percent said the practice would produce a negative image for the U.S.
* About 48.4 percent said that selling citizenships could possibly cause disintegration of struggling countries.
* About 43.2 percent said the practice would drain money from poorer countries.
* About 41.1 percent said it would cause America to become overpopulated.
Selling citizenship or permanent residency would attract ambitious, skilled and energetic people confident in recuperating their investment in citizenship rights within a reasonable period of time, Borna said.
The cost of getting a green card would raise about $40 billion a year if 800,000 people paid to enter the country. The funds raised could go to education and training programs.
"America would benefit not only directly in terms of cash flow, but also indirectly in terms of providing stimulants to economic activity," he said. -30- --- Sent from UnionMail Service [http://mail.union.org.za]