Yeah, you'd think they'd be up in arms over this travesty.

When I was teaching, a lot of my students were retraining after having been replaced by an H1B worker, some were on their second replacement cycle.

Apparently computing and engineering jobs are among those that Americans simply don't want do.

You white collar type are all alike. 163k in H1B visas is laughable. Our labor force is over 130 million so what is 163k. You guys who see this as a major issue are probably the same guys who don't care about illegal alliens. There were between 10 and 20 million illegal alliens in our country last year of which less than 2 percent were here looking for H1B visas. Maybe you guys should look at the broader issue.

I do find it worrisome when governement contractors and NASA are coming out openly and stating that we don't have enough educated people to fill the amount of jobs they currently need.

Of course Bill Gates and any other biz owner is going to want more liberal laws on H1B visas and any other legal way to get otherwise illegal labor in the country. The larger a labor pool the more skilled it is likely to be and the cheaper it will be according to the laws of supply and demand.

Originally posted by Low Orbit
You white collar type are all alike. 163k in H1B visas is laughable. Our labor force is over 130 million so what is 163k. You guys who see this as a major issue are probably the same guys who don't care about illegal alliens. There were between 10 and 20 million illegal alliens in our country last year of which less than 2 percent were here looking for H1B visas. Maybe you guys should look at the broader issue.

I do find it worrisome when governement contractors and NASA are coming out openly and stating that we don't have enough educated people to fill the amount of jobs they currently need.

Of course Bill Gates and any other biz owner is going to want more liberal laws on H1B visas and any other legal way to get otherwise illegal labor in the country. The larger a labor pool the more skilled it is likely to be and the cheaper it will be according to the laws of supply and demand.

But you also realize that 163,000 doesn't cycle each year, it's CUMULATIVE, meaning each year we add 163K more available foreign workers to the pool that we already have. When we bring in people on H1B's, a lot of the money they make is sent back to their country of origin. That does nothing to help the local economies. The only ones who profit are the companies who get cheap labor from those on the visa.

So instead of dissolving the cap on H1B's, which we know does harm to this country, why not push for spending on programs to encourage more enrollments in science and technology in colleges? If we lack skilled labor, why the hell are we looking for shortcuts by bringing in foreigners to do the work and send the money elsewhere instead of focusing on how to enroll more bright minds FROM this country in science and tech fields where the workers are needed most?

Sos do you understand how much money is sent back to Mexico from the US each year? Look it up you will be impressed.

Well big businesses point is that they need techincal labor and it's not their fault that the US only puts out morons. Either the job goes overseas possibly with the company or the job comes over here.

It isn't in big business' interest to have an educated labor pool in the US since educated American labor pool translates to more expensive labor. People cut corners it is the neo American way.

Good thing Obama understands he needs to solve the worlds empoyment problems not just ours at home, and good luck to those looking for work in 2009.


[edit on 9-2-2009 by Low Orbit]

Originally posted by sos37
...why not push for spending on programs to encourage more enrollments in science and technology in colleges? If we lack skilled labor, why the hell are we looking for shortcuts by bringing in foreigners to do the work and send the money elsewhere instead of focusing on how to enroll more bright minds FROM this country in science and tech fields where the workers are needed most?

Back up 50 years, when USA didn't want to lose the "space race" and did exactly that. By the 1980's the country's best and brightest were going into business, law, and economics, because that was where the money was, no longer in engineering and science.

Interesting, No Child Left Behind was created to "encourage" more students to take more math and science classes to prepare them for college and careers in science and technology. NCLB instead is forcing students with 65 IQs to take "college prep" classes. Students on the other side of the IQ bell curve are learning to be excellent test takers.

The truly academic capable are finding reduced college aide, with increasing costs, and many times reductions in teaching staff at colleges. Also, corporations, to cut expenses, no longer offer the education opportunities they once offered.

Fifty years ago, American corporations were proud to be American. Many now prefer to be international, holding no special allegiance to America nor to the American worker, except at tax time and bailout time.
Their allegiance is to the global economy, and they will always be in search of the cheapest labor, either by outsourcing or insourcing.