Word: howard
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...sick of it.At the risk of surprising a lot of people who are familiar with my libertarian-ish, somewhat conservative views, it is time for a massive increase in local, state, and maybe even federal aid to combat this serious problem. Before this column turns into a Howard Dean campaign shriek, however, I should note that my homelessness recipe comes with a healthy portion of tough love and a massive side of realism.First, the numbers. Around 800,000 people are homeless on any given night, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Of these, about 32 percent report both mental illness...
...need to keep paying aid money, and it will get the benefit of the labor." At last week's Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Papua New Guinea, the 16 member states agreed to an extensive reform plan on economic integration, governance and security. But Prime Minister John Howard, reflecting longstanding opposition to guest workers, would not be swayed on a proposal to allow seasonal labor into Australia. "We apply an open, non-discriminatory immigration policy, and people from the Pacific Island area come in increasing numbers," Howard said. "We have always had a preference for permanent settlement...
...face value, Howard's reasoning appears questionable. Of course there is discrimination. The skilled have a better chance than the unskilled of migrating to Australia. Those laden with assets can enter as "business migrants." Australia already allows European and American backpackers to do seasonal farm work. (Howard is on much firmer ground here; backpackers and guest workers are as different as apples and bananas.) But it is also true that Pacific Islanders are coming in greater numbers to Australia, some after a long holiday in New Zealand. While the money they wire back to the islands is no doubt welcomed...
...Despite the pleas and pressure from the other leaders, Howard did not crack. He pointed to the problems of visa overstayers and the possibility that guest workers would be seen, and treated, as second-class labor. In Europe and Canada, unscrupulous operators have exploited seasonal foreign workers. And Australia's trade unions, already under siege, would strongly resist any attempts to further erode pay and working conditions. The country still carries the baggage of the White Australia Policy and the use of kidnapped South Sea islanders as laborers in Queensland's sugar plantations. As well, Howard does not want...
...Free-market hardliners argue that by admitting guest workers, Australia would take the pressure off Pacific leaders to reform their economies and improve their governance. Certainly, Australia's development (and security) ideal must be to help create stable and self-sustaining neighbors. To this end, Howard has announced that Australia will fund a regional technical college. Still, labor mobility remains on the Forum's formal agenda. Despite the myriad objections, a country of 10 million workers can afford at least to test a scheme for a few thousand temporary foreign workers, incorporating lessons from other Western countries...