The recent controversy and debate within the Republican coalition over H-1B visas and legal immigration have, more than anything in recent memory, highlighted the degree to which corporations and big business influence the way conservatives approach economic matters.

For corporate America, the H-1B visa program is a lifeline to cheap labor. As the Washington Examiner detailed in a recent editorial, the program has become an outlet for corporations to hire foreign workers who are willing to work for significantly lower pay than would be expected from an American-born employee.

The result has been twofold: First, companies are able to maximize their profits by paying less for employees. Second, Americans who could fill numerous jobs have been forced to compete with foreigners eager to move to the United States and willing to work for lower wages. To add insult to injury, large corporations, such as Disney and AT&T, would employ Americans at higher wages before forcing them to train their lower-wage H-1B visa recipient replacements.

But despite these egregious actions, the Republican Party has long aligned itself with corporations, believing that maintaining close ties with large corporations and Wall Street while granting deference to them is a key part of effective conservative governance. Businesses, the thinking goes, are what makes America go, and any interference from the government will stymie economic growth and prosperity.

But this is a misunderstanding of the ethos of........

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