There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Dima:
If you want to talk about foreigners who come here, it is a well known fact that these immigrants send a significant amount of money back to their families at home. Inflow of American money is massive in foreign countries from families with US workers.
It is absolutely no hit on the Russian ecomony especially when you consider these folks make more money here than in Russia, send a significant percentage home and are EMPLOYED in their desired field. How can this be any detriment to Russia? If Russia feels they are losing so much, close the borders back down and realize the incredible benefits of an underemployed white collar class.
I don't understand what you mean by Mexican dishwashers. I have no knowledge of the dishwashing profession. I can assure you there are huge differences in wages paid to foreign workers versus US workers, for skilled professions.
Dima:
If you want to talk about foreigners who come here, it is a well known fact that these immigrants send a significant amount of money back to their families at home. Inflow of American money is massive in foreign countries from families with US workers.
It is absolutely no hit on the Russian ecomony especially when you consider these folks make more money here than in Russia, send a significant percentage home and are EMPLOYED in their desired field. How can this be any detriment to Russia? If Russia feels they are losing so much, close the borders back down and realize the incredible benefits of an underemployed white collar class.
I don't understand what you mean by Mexican dishwashers. I have no knowledge of the dishwashing profession. I can assure you there are huge differences in wages paid to foreign workers versus US workers, for skilled professions.
