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With H-1B Cap Hit, Zuckerberg and Ballmer-Led Groups Press For More Tech Visas

theodp writes: With the FY2016 H-1B visa cap reached in the first week of April (only the USCIS knows how many applications were submitted by outsourcing companies and from Bentonville, AR), it's no surprise that groups like Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us PAC and Steve Ballmer's Partnership for a New American Economy Action Fund are pooh-poohing Jesse Jackson's claims that foreign high-tech workers are taking American jobs, and promoting the idea that what's really holding back Americans from jobs is a lack of foreign tech workers with H-1B visas.

5 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Lies, bullshit, and more lies ... by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Even if U.S. STEM grads could get work, H1B's artificially drive down the wages so much that they wouldn't get paid shit even if they found work.

    It's like farm labor back in the 90's in my hometown. When I was in high school and college (early 90's), you could make good money cutting tobacco for local farmers during the summer. They paid $7/hr. back when the minimum wage was around $3. A few years after that I went back to my hometown and asked some old buddies if they still cut tobacco in the summers. They told me that all the local farmers had started hiring illegals. And now all the tobacco cutting jobs only paid $4/hr.

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  2. Re:Lies, bullshit, and more lies ... by rnturn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ``Instead they write a job description which is impossible, or geared to bringing in a specific foreign worker.''

    It'd be interesting to see the actual duties being performed by the H1-B worker who is hired to fill those jobs. I suspect that some of these hires aren't actually doing everything that was listed in the job description that disqualified American workers.

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  3. Re:Lies, bullshit, and more lies ... by mwvdlee · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Disallowing foreign competition is what is distorting the playing field.

    You mean like disallowing customers to import goods sold on foreign markets at lower prices? You know; import protection.

    If companies are against protectionism, they shouldn't get benefits of protectionism either.

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  4. Re:Lies, bullshit, and more lies ... by johnnys · · Score: 5, Interesting

    First of all, welcome to Canada and I hope you're having a good time in our great nation. Sorry about the winters!

    Second of all, if the USA wants to do the H1-B visa fairly for all USA citizens, here's a suggestion: Make the minimum annual salary for each H1-B visa holder 10 times "the poverty threshold for a single person under 65" (about 10 x $11,490US = $114,900US based on 2013 numbers.)

    That way you will eliminate the problem of employers getting "cheap" labour to corrupt and undercut the job market to displace honest, capable USA citizen workers, and you'll still be able to attract the genuine foreign talent that these billionaires claim to need.

    If these billionaires REALLY want what they claim they want, then they'll have no problem with this change. And pigs will fly, too!

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  5. Re:Lies, bullshit, and more lies ... by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually, the french revolution, with it's massive use of the guillotine, did have a positive effect on European democracy and decentralisation of power. Here in Europe socialized healthcare, free (or very affordable) higher education and strong worker unions have been a normal part of life since a long time.

    Generally, employers have less rights over the employees, and they are more restricted in what their contracts can stipulate, compared to the US and the UK.

    --
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