Gates Repeats Request for More H-1B Visas
The U.S. is driving away the world's best engineers and computer scientists by putting limits on H-1B visas and other immigrant worker programs, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday.
Gates repeated his past calls for more H-1B visas, the controversial program used by technology and other companies to hire foreign workers for up to six years.
And why are American workers not good enough for you Mr. Gates? Or is it that if you can increase the potential labor pool it will drive down wages across the board?
I mean, hey, why have any limits on H-1B visas at all? Anyone who wants in can come to work for Microsoft, Google, Sun Microsystems, etc. Social cost? Potential to radically change America? Who cares! Congress shouldn't worry about America, they need to worry about how much Microsoft is donating to their campaigns.
Visas:
B-1 Business Visitor Visa
B-2 Tourist Visitor Visa
B-1/B-2 Visa Extension
E-1 Treaty Trader Visa
E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
E-3 Visa for Australians
F-1 Student Visa
H-1B Work Visa
H-2B Work Visa
H-3 Trainee Visa
J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa
K-1 Fiancee Visa
L-1 Intracompany Visa
P Visa Athlete/Entertainer
R-1 Religious Visa
TN Nafta Work Visa
Let's not stop there. Surely a J-2B truck drivers visa would save shipping companies some money. How about a H-3A car salesmen visa? Think how much less dealerships could give in commision!
How about we just import more software to compete with Microsoft. Speaking of, how's that whole "Vista" thing working out for you Bill? Yeah, I thought so.
29 comments:
It's funny you should say that Daniel. I do plan on using Linux or going to Mac as soon as I am "required" to use Vista. I went to XP because it was better then the alternatives. Not this time.
Your slippery slope is ridiculous. Truck drivers? Unskilled workers? You can't compare those to high skilled professions!
Here's a thought: other countries are better at producing software engineers than we are. As opposed to truck driving, there is a much wider spectrum of ability for software engineers. It is much easier to learn to drive a truck, and the returns for higher skilled truck drivers vs lower skilled truck drivers is extremely insignificant, especially when compared to the returns of a highly skilled software engineers vs low skilled software engineers.
It makes much more sense to seek a higher skilled software engineer than it is a truck driver because a) you don't have to spend the resources training them and b) the returns on purchasing a higher skilled resource who produces high returns is much more cost effective than the returns on purchasing a lower skilled worker.
To answer your question, Daniel, yes, American workers are not good enough. A neoclassical liberal economist would argue against restrictions on importing workers who would benefit society in this regard.
But I'm sure all of this is lost on you. You're only interested in feel good solutions to social problems that cover up the problem while it gets worse.
"And why are American workers not good enough for you Mr. Gates?"
Quite simply, because our students are inadequately trained in math and science. It's really as simple as that.
Non-immigrant American citizens are underskilled, undertrained, un-educated and actually more than a bit lazy. Person to person, Americans can't compete with Asia, India, Europe and Latin America Is that a surprise?
We can't really expect you, Daniel, or most of the low class anti-immigrant folks that comment on here to understand because many of them are hourly paid ham-n-eggers with little education to show for it. They are neither qualified, trained or educated to take jobs in bio-tech, hi-tech or any tech other than burger-building technology. That just doesn't cut it in the global market setting we are now in.
If you need, Ubuntu is free. It is called the linux for the poor, cheap and underclassed human being. Go too it. Seems like it would suite you just right.
If you need, Ubuntu is free. It is called the linux for the poor, cheap and underclassed human being. Go to it. Seems like it would suite you just right.
Your ignorance is truly boundless Miglavs.
Thru his foundation Bill Gates has funneled BILLIONS of dollars into education in an effort to home grow the skilled workers America needs to insure our competitiveness in the future.
You're so damn inconsistent Miglavs it's almost painful to watch. One minute you're worshiping at the conservative altar of free market capitalism and the next minute you're talking smack about Gates doing exactly what it is a capitalist is supposed to do!
Pull your head out of your ass Daniel. Perhaps you've heard about this litmus test question from law school: Don't ask a question unless you know the answer?
The answer to your question: aren't American workers good enough for Gates?
NO.
Is that Gate's fault? NO.
Is it the teacher's fault? NO
Remember, conservatives are big on taking responsibility for one's own welfare and one's own shortcomings.
Conservatives put it out there that they have a monopoly on "accountabilty." If that's so, then that logic should tell you that if Americans are too lazy to obtain the kind of education and skills that Gates needs to stay in business, then we have no one to blame but ourselves if he's forced to make up for that by recruiting HB visa workers.
Americans are lazy about their education and we always have been. The number of American citizens who enter college and successfully exit with a degree in hand has always been embarassingly low compared to other industrialized nations.
Second only to Warren Buffet's recent billion dollar pledge to advance American education, Bill and Melinda Gates have done more than just about anyone in this country to champion the educations of American children and their future employability.
You're a moron to completely overlook that Miglavs.
FACT; U.S. Colleges are graduating more Computer experts than Gates can hire, every year.
FACT; Average Highly Skilled Visa holder is paid on average $1,400/Yr. LESS than an American.
Gates is just pissed that he lost Top "Richest in the World" to the Scumbag of Mexico Carlos Slim, He owns the Telephone monopoly of Mexico and Gates wants to pass him up this year and "Cheap" foreign labor is the way to do it.
$58 Billion, in personal worth is not enough you know.
YOUR JOB IS NEXT!!!!!!
FACT; U.S. Colleges are graduating more Computer experts than Gates can hire, every year.
Where are the stats on this? Or is this another Tony Deluggi sham post?
It isn't just "computer experts" that are needed. As "as it is" pointed out, hi-tech, bio-tech, engineers are in way short supply here. I know, I work in the industry.
Anon253: You, sir, have to be a complete idiot to think that truck drivers are not skilled workers. Each one of these drivers is capable of taking a semi, weighing nearly 80,000 pounds, from one end of the country and back again keeping to a set schedule for delivery of whatever he is hauling in his trailer, and do it without an accident nearly every trip in all kinds of weather. It is true that truckers have accidents, most are not their fault. Of all the accidents that occur in the U.S. each year only about 5% involve truckers and less than half of those are the truckers' faults.
I am a retired trucker with 45 years in and with nearly 4,000,000 miles with one chargeable accident.
That is not bragging, just fact.
You cannot say that being a truck driver is not a skilled profession. We may not all have a college education, but we are highly skilled professionals just the same.
And one more thing: Try going for a full month doing without every thing that a trucker handles.
That is everything you can name.
Anon 10:37 OK, here you go,
Per Nat'l center for ED. stats for 2005-'06 = http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008023.pdf - Page #36
2,286,000 Graduated with an Assoc., Bach., Masters or 1st Pro. Degree, from American Colleges, in one year. Over 2.2 Million!
We don't even create that many Jobs every year.
Gates won't hire all of them at an American paycheck, when he has a choice to pay less.
Their not all Dr.'s, Lawyers and Teachers either.
If Gates and other Greedy CEO's get their way....YOUR JOB IS NEXT!
YOU are EXPENDABLE, YOU COST too much, to them. YOU will be REPLACED, unless YOU do something.
Immigrant workers=Happy to get ANY paycheck & to be in America & all those Social Services offered.
American workers=High standard of living via the largest % of people in the Middle Class, in the World.
Gates & his goons will take US all down to lower standards, to "Compete Globally".
And then were do we Immigrate to?
For a better life.
How many of these grads are receiving technical degrees that equip them to work in the computer industry?
Not one damn direct-to-source link or address? How vague can you get? It's still "Lou Dobbs" quality unverifiable bullshit you're trying to pass off and you know it. I can't even call it a "nice try."
There isn't much argument from anybody that the Pew Hispanic Center is pretty much the universally accepted authority on information of this sort, and even they don't put the number at 20 million, in fact, according to them, the numbers are decreasing at a pretty steady clip.
Also, your fear mongering on TB is ridiculous. There were 49 reported cases of MDR TB in America in 2006.
Sorry guys...I accidentally posted the above comment onto the wrong thread. Please disregard.
I knew someone was going to complain about truck drivers not being skilled workers.
While that wasn't what I was trying to say (truck driving is a skill), it is true that truck drivers are not nearly as skilled as computer programmers (assuming you can quantify such a thing). While that may disputable, it is certainly evident that the average joe is more likely to be able to cultivate the skill of truck driving than computer programming, due to the amount of time it takes addition to trainability of prospective programmers vs truck drivers.
In additions, the return gap between high skilled programmers vs low skilled programmers is vastly greater than that of high skilled truck drivers vs low skilled truck drivers.
Sorry guys...I accidentally posted the above comment onto the wrong thread. Please disregard.
Disregard what?
Anon 4:43, the LINK is RIGHT THERE, 3rd line and page # of pdf report, Hello?
Anon, from previous post, you can look up CDC can't you? come on.
Also PEW report was couple of years ago and U.S. Border Patrol estimate(decades of hands on experience) they may catch ONE in THREE crossing the border. Last year they caught over 1 Million, and year before and year before, that would be 3 Million more EACH year.
Also Gov't says many Illegals simply over stayed their Visa...We gave out 33 Million Visa's last year and 30 Million year before.
Dept. of Homeland Security-Immigration Fact Book, big pdf file, Google it or something.
Yes reality IS hard to comprehend.
AFL-CIO was just at my door, asking for money to push an effort to lower health care costs.
I asked how? no answer.
I told him AFl-CIO wants to replace him w/Illegals and they are 1/2 the total that do not have Insurance, that is why it cost so much.
So again what REFORMS do you want that will make health care more "affordable"? Illegals gone maybe? "today is my 1st day, I don't know". Sad testimony for that Union, sad.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/IMMIGRANT_ENCOUNTEr_03-12-08_NT9BE4J_v33.f1bec.html
hey, a guy just like our hero daniel made the news
Store owner asks to see shoppers' Social Security cards
08:48 AM EDT on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By Karen Lee Ziner
Journal Staff Writer
Richardson
PROVIDENCE — All José Genao planned to do at the heating equipment supply store was buy a spare part for his boiler.
While the owner began searching for the part, Genao and his friend began speaking to each other in Spanish.
As owner David C. Richardson was ringing up Genao’s $18 purchase, he demanded to see their Social Security cards.
What followed was a telling encounter underscoring the tensions in this country over immigration and ethnicity.
When Genao told Richardson “he did not have the right to ask all those questions,” Richardson pulled out a membership card for Rhode Islanders for Immigration Law Enforcement, a group that seeks curbs on illegal immigration.
Then, he lifted the phone receiver and threatened to call immigration authorities, Genao said.
“He [Richardson] grabbed the phone and said, ‘I can call ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] anytime I see an illegal immigrant,’ ” said Genao. “He also said, ‘I can make a citizen’s arrest.’ ”
Genao, a Rhode Island state employee, is a native of the Dominican Republic and a U.S. citizen. He speaks fluent English. He said his friend — who declined comment — is also a Dominican native and U.S. citizen. “There is no problem with his status,” said Genao. “He is legal.” State records list both as registered voters.
Richardson, owner of Rhode Island Refrigeration on Branch Avenue, did not dispute most of Genao’s account of the March 1 incident, but said he did not recall picking up the phone receiver, and was not trying to threaten anyone. Interviewed at his store, Richardson said he singled out Genao’s friend, whom he thought only spoke Spanish.
“I wanted to see the Social Security number from the one who wasn’t speaking English,” said Richardson. “I just kind of mentioned I’d like to see his Social Security card. And he kinda balked. He left and walked out the door.” When the friend returned to urge Genao to leave, Richardson added, “he started to speak in English. That surprised me.”
Richardson, a Reform party member and former Senate candidate, said he was acting on civic duty. Genao accused Richardson of racial stereotyping, “all because we were speaking Spanish.”
Said Richardson, “I have no problem as a citizen of the United States of America to try and pursue people who are breaking laws. I was just trying to make [them] understand that people who come into this country who are illegal shouldn’t be here. I am very passionate about that.” He said he did not call ICE or make a citizen’s arrest “because I didn’t have enough proof.”
Richardson was asked what led him to suspect that either of the men were illegal immigrants.
“What proof is there? I think the majority of people who don’t speak English in Rhode Island — at least 51 percent or more — are illegal aliens,” he said. He added, “I’m trying to wake America up. I’m trying to wake him [Genao’s friend] up, and let him be aware that people who are breaking the law shouldn’t be breaking the law.”
Mark Potok, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, which tracks hate crimes in the United States, said the incident reflects the tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in this country — not solely restricted to illegal immigrants.
“This kind of thing is happening every day in this country,” said Potok. “Do we really want to bring the country to this point where everyone who is brown-skinned is suspect?
“It’s really quite incredible people can be confronted in this way,” said Potok. “We hear everyday from U.S. congressmen and television pundits and talk radio about the many terrible things brown-skinned immigrants are doing to this country — and they are almost universally false — but the reality is, they lead directly to incidents like this, and, less directly, to violence.”
Genao said he is still upset over the encounter, which he called “loud in tone.” Richardson called it “a discussion.”
“I told [Richardson] I’m a U.S. citizen by choice, whereas he was just born here,” said Genao. “I have every right to be here. I told him his behavior was shameful. And he went on to say that a lot of these illegal immigrants are criminals and we have to stop them, and he said he did this for his country — because it’s going downhill, because of all these illegal immigrants.
“What [Richardson] should have done was say, ‘Thank you for shopping with me.’ That’s all he had to do.”
RIILE, the organization to which Richardson belongs, was formed in 2006 by Terry Gorman of Lincoln. RIILE seeks enforcement of current immigration laws; supports any new legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration; opposes guest-worker programs; and opposes amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Gorman took exception to Richardson’s actions.
“There’s no way I can defend what he did. It definitely isn’t the policy of RIILE to go around and use your RIILE card to intimidate people,” said Gorman in a phone interview. “That’s not something that RIILE would promote … to make citizen’s arrest.”
According to Gorman, Richardson “has done that to other people and he’s refused their business if they have no Social Security number. Then he doesn’t sell his products to them.”
Richardson said he has asked for customers’ Social Security numbers if they do not speak English well, and estimated that he has done so “fifteen or twenty times.” At first, Richardson said he has refused to do business with some people who declined to show him a Social Security card. He subsequently denied that, and said he had asked people for their cards “maybe 10 times in the last five years.”
Though Richardson said it is his legal right to demand a Social Security card — it may not be.
Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Richardson appears to have violated a state law (R.I. General Law 6-13-17) related to “unfair sales practices.”
The law states, “Unless otherwise required by federal law, no person shall require that a consumer of goods or services disclose a Social Security number incident to the sale of consumer goods or services.”
There are several exceptions, including that insurance companies and institutions licensed by the state or federal government for financial services may require applicants to disclose their Social Security number. Consumers may also be required to disclose their Social Security numbers when applying for a credit card or seeking health care or pharmaceutical related services.
Brown said the law, “designed to protect consumers’ rights, generally prohibits businesses from requiring customers to disclose their Social Security number. The law contains both criminal and civil penalties.” In Brown’s opinion, “by demanding that this customer present his Social Security card, the owner clearly ran afoul of that law.”
Brown said Richardson’s actions “also appear to clearly violate state laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in places of public accommodation. There can be little question that this customer was singled out for discriminatory and humiliating treatment based on his national origin. Store owners have a legal obligation to serve all customers, and threatening to arrest a customer for speaking Spanish and for refusing to show a Social Security card is precisely the type of discriminatory conduct that the state’s ‘public accommodations’ law was meant to bar.”
Genao said, “Somehow, we have to keep on educating people. When it comes to this man [Richardson], does he have any children or grandchildren? Does he let them see anyone who is not their kind? Or does ask them for their documents before he can let them play together?”
kziner@projo.com
Sounds like just another day in Miglavia....
I know I'm going to sound like a mental institution patient screaming through a soundproof glass window, but can we please bring rational debate back to the forefront of the comments section?
Anon 253: I will concede to your point that not all skilled truck drivers are skilled computer programmers, although some can be and probably are.
However not all skilled computer programmers are not skilled truck drivers, although some can be but probably are not.
get over yourselves
A boycott is in the works of this racist scumbag:
Name: Rhode Island Refrigeration Supply Co., Inc.
Address: 199 Branch Ave.
Providence, RI 02904
UNITED STATES
Phone: (800) 221-7477
Fax: (800) 570-6675
Email: rirs6@cs.com
Website: www.riref.com
Contact: D. Richardson
Sorry ... I guess I missed the explanation of why anyone should or would give a shit what kind of computer Daniel Miglavs uses.
...LOL, I was just thinking the same thing. This blog is really starting to suck, not that it was ever that great to begin with. Purely for entertainment value mostly -- it was kind of fun to check in and see what dumb ass shit Daniel was going to come up with next, but even that isn't funny anymore...
...kind of like picking on the retarded kid back in the day. After a while you know that it really is wrong and we shouldn't be doing it...that sort of thing.
the blog was a lot funnier when r-huse was consistently taking time away from his butt plugs to grace us with his lucid pontifications.
Lucid, yes...but (self righteous, bloviating, and egomaniacal) pontifications none the less...
Huse's choice of business endeavor gives us HUGE clues about his personality.
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