abcx - i think Vadhawa made the case forcefully that day - in fact I posted so on this forum immediately. But as I watched - I thought he was way over the top when he said America is losing edge. All he put forth was emotional commentary. There was NO data to back it up. So to be honest - IMHO - his commentary came across more as political than analytical or expert commentary.
While EB immigration is useful since it gives edge in terms of technology - I do think that illegal immigration - is economically important since it creates instant demand and contributes significantly to the GDP. 13 million people rushing to buy houses and cars and everything they couldn't buy before because of lack of proper identity. Just think about that.
I just don't think America is losing edge. When panic hits the world markets ... the US dollar appreciates rather than depreciate. What does that tell you? Edge is a function of innovation. But innovation is a function of not just intelligence but law and order, equal opportunity AND economic size/might/coverage. A particular country may pull ahead in one industry like mining or telephones or robotics. But US not only has complete coverage of all industries - but they have tremendous law and order and equal opportunities advantage. I cant think of any other country including in Europe that can match US. Euro is one of those attempts to replace US but look where they are. They can't even determine whether they want to stay together. China is the only other alternative - but where is freedom. Equal opportunity is too far away without that. And then our own India scores poorly both on equal opportunity and law and order. So we come back to US.
That's why I say that this whole talk about US losing edge is non-sense. Majority of nobel prize winners were born outside US. What does that tell you? It tells you that the brightest minds on earth think that US is still the destination to do something worthwhile in their lives. The number of students coming from India reduced 4% YoY this year (which by itself is in the margin of error) because of visa rejections as opposed to reductions in applications. The number from China rose 26%. So again - wadhwa really needs to put numbers on the table to make the point.