Sometimes I really wonder if people in this country believe that morality is local rather than universal. Case in point: I caught about twenty minutes of a discussion on the radio about changes in the nursing profession aver the last twenty years or so. The guests were two long time nurses, and at the point I started listening they were discussing the practice of recruiting nurses from other nations. One of the guests said, obviously being a bit hyperbolic here, "I just think this is about the most immoral thing thing can do."
Host: "In what way is it immoral?"
Guest 1: "Well for one thing, you are depleting these other countries of their most experienced nurses. The people coming are not the recent nursing school graduates, they are the nurses with experience."
Host: "But are they being paid the same as the other nurses?"
Guest 1: "Yes, we are all under the same contract . . ."
Guest 2: "But they are artificially depressing the wages, since the immigrant nurses are willing to work for lower wages"

This was followed by a bit of discussion about some studies that were done about ten years ago which indicated that there would be a big nursing surplus. As a result of these figures, many nursing schools closed and many hospitals laid off nurses.

What concerned me was the idea that paying someone a premium to move for a job is immoral. The context here is an international move, but one wonders how this is different than, say, an interstate move, or even an intercity move.

Leaving the distance issue aside, it seems to me that people just naturally have an aversion to seeing the power that money has over people. This is because many find it distasteful that those with more money de facto have more power than those who don't.

To spin the situation around, let's say that you have a job skill which enables you to earn $10 per hour where you live. This isn't a great wage by any means, but that is due to the fact that your job skill is common here. Now let's say that this particular job skill is in greater demand in Argentina, and a company there has offered you $20 per hour t owork there. Does this raise any moral issues to you. You might place more value on staying home with your friends and family, but that would of course be up to you. You might, in fact, resent having to make the decision at all. Maybe you were comfortable with your circumstances, but now you need to rethink them. In any case, what would be your MORAL case against the potential employer. If you turned the job down, wouldn't you express thanks for the offer?

To get back to my first statement, I think many are willing to condemn the exercise of our economic system, especially when it comes to international labor markets, without ever really examining what is going on, or what the alternatives would be. Should we forbid all alien laborers here? Would that make us MORE moral?