LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
into contact with. Thinking back
to his own childhood toys and action figures, Ed Brown says, “not
once did I ever think about what
those things were made out of
— the paint on them, or the plastic they were made out of, or the
stickers on the sides of them...
My parents, I’m sure they didn’t
think about it either.” After asking
questions about the thousands of
chemicals produced or imported
into the U.S. every year — and
learning of the lax regulations that
allow potentially harmful chemicals into everything from shampoos to children’s Halloween costumes — Brown took up the cause
as an activist and documentary
filmmaker. “The worst part, for
me, was learning that our corporations, our courts, and even the
government, feel that all of those
chemicals inside of our bodies are
completely acceptable,” he says.
And Gerry Smith writes about
what would seem to be an uncontroversial immigration issue
— the question of whether those
who come to America and actually create jobs can stay and
continue to create jobs. With the
number of immigrant-founded
HUFFINGTON
11.11.12
startups in decline, it’s a question with implications not only
for immigrants, but for all who
are affected by our ongoing jobs
crisis, since immigrants are more
than twice as likely to start businesses as nativeborn Americans.
Smith introduces us
Work
to Asaf Darash, an
has shifted to
Israeli entrepreneur
the suburbs,
who came to America yet many of
and started a small
those who
business. He has
need the jobs
15 employees, and
cannot afford
planned to hire more. to make the
Yet his visa renewal
necessary
application has been
commute.”
denied, and he faces deportation. As
Gerry writes, the rejection stirs a
range of emotions in Darash. But
mostly confusion. “In his homeland of Israel, politicians fight
over who can attract more foreign
entrepreneurs,” Gerry writes.
“The United States, he says,
should be rolling out the welcome
mat for him, not ushering
him out the door.”
ARIANNA