Obama announced the modest package of reforms at the Disney World theme park in Florida, a state whose economy is heavily dependent on the tourist industry.

The state, closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, will be a crucial battleground in November, when Obama faces a re-election vote that may hinge on Americans' perceptions of his handling of the economy.

The American tourism industry and business groups have long advocated an easing of visa restrictions that were tightened in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Standing on "Main Street" in Disney's Magic Kingdom with Cinderella's castle in the background, Obama said he was making the visa changes to try to help spur American job growth.

"I want America to be the top tourist destination in the world," Obama said. "The more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. It is that simple."

The White House estimated that more than 1 million U.S. jobs could be created in the next decade if the country increased its share of the international travel market.

Foreign visitors generated $134 billion in 2010, making it the largest U.S. service export industry, the Commerce Department said. The number of tourists from emerging economies with growing middle classes like China, Brazil and India is projected to grow sharply in coming years.

Among the steps announced on Thursday:

* An order for the government to increase non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent in 2012, ensuring that 80 percent of applicants are interviewed within three weeks and expanding visa waiver programs.

* A pilot program to simplify and speed the visa process for applicants from China and Brazil, including the ability to waive interviews for low-risk applicants.

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
reply to post by HangTheTraitors

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I don't see what a conservative would have to gain from any of Obamas policies. For that matter I don't see what any liberal stands to gain. We all lose.

The Cloward/Piven Strategy is named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. Their goal is to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands. The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change.


According to Discover the Networks.org:


Rather than placating the poor with government hand-outs, wrote Cloward and Piven, activists should work to sabotage and destroy the welfare system; the collapse of the welfare state would ignite a political and financial crisis that would rock the nation... [Emphasis added.]