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Trump Gives Displaced IT Workers Attention, and He's Not Alone (computerworld.com)

dcblogs writes: The H-1B visa issue is getting more attention than it has ever received before. Donald Trump has invited laid-off Disney workers to speak at his rallies, and has posed in photos with them. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), held a press conference this week to complain that visa workers are being hired instead of U.S. workers. Legislation to reform the visa program has been introduced, and discrimination complaints are being filed with federal agencies and in the courts. But these efforts may have little impact. If visa restrictions arrive, IT services firms may increase reliance on web-based "knowledge transfer" to avoid having visa workers at an employer's site. There have also been reports of U.S. workers traveling overseas to train replacements on foreign soil. [Even with all the political and legal efforts,] there's no certainty any action will derail the forces moving IT jobs overseas.

35 of 688 comments (clear)

  1. wonder why by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    he leads?

    1. Re: wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is racist and sexist. I dont know how yet, I'll wait for Huff po. to tell me how, but rest assured it is somehow.

    2. Re:wonder why by fluffernutter · · Score: 4, Funny

      Which is exactly what Trump is: a man who can get things done for himself.

      FIFY

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    3. Re: wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Okay tell me what his platform is. Aside from he's going to do something and it's going to be something, he literally takes no firm stance on anything.He is fear mongering based on other, without any real platform of solutions, he can't even build the wall he's talking about.

    4. Re: wonder why by VanGarrett · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is the sort of irrational behavior that makes me want to support Trump. How can I be in agreement with such irrationality? If it were just the occasional whack job it could be dismissed, but the abundance of unbridled crazy in Trump's naysayers makes me think that Trump must be on the right track.

    5. Re: wonder why by kuzb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I honestly think there's a lot of truth to what you're saying here. Let's be real - there are a ton of things wrong with the country and we've seen decades of people lie through their teeth about fixing it. As batshit insane as some of the stuff Trump says, there's a lot of things that he says which are not only plausible, but resonate with a large portion of the population because they've traditionally been taboo topics for politicians at election time. Instead of sidestepping these issues, he's taking them head on even though they make him look like a bad person.

      It's sorta like masturbation - everyone does it but NOBODY admits it, and most if asked will actively deny it.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    6. Re:wonder why by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...and that's why he's 100,000x richer than you will ever be, right?

      Yes, yes, actually it is why. He inherited his money.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    7. Re: wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Let's be clear: I voted for Ron Paul in 2008, and Barrack Obama in 2012.

      I'm voting for Trump in 2016 because:
      A) I think he is hilarious and don't want the comedy to stop
      &
      B) because I want to watch the Republican party burn to the ground after the way they treated Ron Paul in 2012.

      If it were up to me: Hillary Clinton would nominate Ted Cruz as her VP and Donald Trump would Nominate Bernie Sanders and we could rebrand the Republican Party the "Antiestablishment Party" and the Republicrats would have a unity ticket called the "Establishment Party".

      When liberals misconstrue my intentions as being "passions that have been inflamed by casual racism": they disarm themselves of their ability to counter my influence by fundamentally misunderstanding my motivations.

      I don't support Trump because I hate muslims or black people... I'm on the #trumptrain because I want to see the world burn and I think Trump is crazy enough to light the match. Once you stop confusing my fatalist intent for ignorance, you'll be better equipped to dissuade me. I'm letting you in on the joke because it makes the inevitable punchline that much funnier if you saw the ground rushing up at you and were unable to stop it.

      Until then, your trite assumption that my political preferences are born from ignorance or bigotry just further fans the flames of my conviction. It's a shame that Bernie is wasting his time on the Democrats. He would make a powerful ally.

    8. Re: wonder why by niftydude · · Score: 5, Informative

      His policies are on his website: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/p...

      Click through - the stances are quite firm and there is quite a lot of detail. On a number of issues I consider him more progressive than Hillary.

      --
      You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
    9. Re: wonder why by JBMcB · · Score: 4, Informative

      Okay tell me what his platform is.

      1. Go here: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
      2. Click on "Positions" and pick something
      3. Read

      --
      My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
    10. Re: wonder why by tnk1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I will say this. I disagree with Trump and will not be voting for him.

      However, this has been wrought by the mistreatment of people by both parties. They've felt that they had a lock on them so long that they were now voting blocs to be moved like chess pieces and controlled using Big Data triangulation of just the right issues. And that's the way it turned out with Obama/Romney.

      What is more, on one hand, the Republicans tend to like to obstruct, and get nothing done, they are generally assholes, and many are about as close to Mr. Burns as you can be without being a yellow cartoon character.

      On the other hand, you have people in the so-called progressive side working to silence what is not politically correct and deriding a significant portion of the population as a bunch of fly-over state hicks who burn crosses in their front yard and hate everyone. Whether or not that is true, you've now got them mad enough so they're now just going with it. I can't get behind their frothing at the mouth at the Trump rallies, but I can see how it must be cathartic for them.

      Make no mistake, the Republicans are looking at a serious upheaval and possible dissolution, but the Democrats are oddly enough not too far behind, if Bernie Sanders is any indication. I actually think that the Black vote that keeps electing Clintons is going to realize that they are getting very little but lip service and affirmative action for their loyalty. Neither one of those things is ending racism or inner city problem, and I'd argue that affirmative action makes it worse in some cases. Four or eight years of Clinton after eight years of Obama had better change their fortunes, or you could see a real problem for the Democrats too.

    11. Re: wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      > Trump won't tank the country.]

      How do you know? He's on all sides of practically every position - he hates outsourcing, but he outsources the manufacture of his branded clothing to mexico, china, honduras and bangladesh.

      He says he's against H1B visas,then he's for them, then he's "changing," then he's against them again.

      No one has a clue what Trump will do, what we do know is that he's skilled at innuendo and insults. Beyond that, no clue. And if you are one of those people who thinks that's a great qualification to be president, then you're just drinking kool-aid.

    12. Re:wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not only did he inherit 40 million (in 1970s dollars) from his dad, he got to use his father's total fortune of 200 million as a guarantee for credit for his own businesses. Plus he had all the social and business connections that come with being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

      Those factors put his estimated net worth at 100 million in 1978. If he'd dumped that into a SP500 index fund he'd have 6 billion in cash today. The highest estimate of his holdings today is $4.1B (by Forbes), Bloomberg thinks his net worth is only $2.9B.

      So, yeah, he pretty much inherited everything he needed to get where he is today.

    13. Re: wonder why by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You need to dig deeper into the politically correct thing as many of the stories are later retracted or turn out to be fabrications.

      Good example: Student win of track race retracted after he makes a gesture thanking god... reality... later the parents and the student both retracted their statements and admitted that he had made taunting gestures to the other team.

      Don't get me wrong-- I think the left does suppress free speach and does do the political correctness thing.

      But the right has played into that and used it to their advantage to make it seem much more outrageous than it really is.

      The teacher who was fired for giving her personal bible to a student... turns out she gave lots of personal bibles to lots of students.

      And so on.

      One of the main reasons I left the republican party was because they passed the normal level of lying by politicians. They turned strongly to "the ends justify the means"
      They abandoned the political tradition required to make this country function: Argue in chambers and then go to dinner together afterwards. Negotiate and compromise. They just don't do that any more since GW Bush Jr's 1st term. And they became the party of "NO" in 2009. At that point, I stopped voting for them entirely. Even local offices.

      It's not good behavior for the country.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    14. Re: wonder why by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      THIS is why we should all be scared. Somewhere along the line, Americans stopped fearing the devastation that the LEFT is historically responsible for.

      Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and the list goes on. Given enough leeway, the radical LEFT kills millions.

      You're afraid of Trump? Don't be. Be afraid of the LEFT.

      Who is silencing free speech on campus? Who is rioting and demanding rallies be canceled? Who is getting professors fired from their jobs? Who's calling for "muscle" to get pesky journalists removed?

      I don't care if you're a Democrat. Democrats are fine. But the rise of the radical LEFT is 100% not fine. Be afraid. This shit is not something we want to mess with, and it's rising fast. And the Democrats aren't doing nearly enough to silence the rabble in their ranks.

      Historically speaking, this ends with lots of bloodshed. And historically speaking the LEFT will be to blame.

      And the radical right had Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco. Beware of extremists of either wing they won't tolerate opposing views and will attack their groups rivals.
      The problem is the two party system coupled with a primary system pushes a polarizing on the politics. The primaries cause each party to push the most extreme candidate to get nominated for the election instead of a person that the majority of the country will actually like.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    15. Re: wonder why by AmazingRuss · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ... And he'll give everyone a free pony! Trump is no puppet of the 1%. He IS the 1%, bringing you the lies you want to hear direct!

      Operators are standing by, call now!

    16. Re: wonder why by Mashiki · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For some reason I find that a more rational belief than the belief that Trump will be somehow better for America than the other candidates.

      When the media, the beltway, and political insiders are all saying "the world will end if Trump is elected..." it more likely means "their world will end." If he does even half of what he's proposing it means bad stuff for the politicians who've been sucking on graft for years, and it means even worse stuff for special interest groups that have paid graft for years.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    17. Re: wonder why by dbIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He's not actually a fascist. He's far more shallow that that for better and worse. No real ideology - Trump is for whatever is best for Trump, will do whatever is best for Trump and will say that he'll do a lot of things he never intends to do if that's what will convince people to do things he wants them to do.
      Look at the sort of unaccountable nobility that George Washington fought against for a bit of a closer idea than fascism but that isn't the full story either.


      If this was a movie there would be shadowy sinister figures in a smoky room pondering who they could possibly run against Hillary if they wanted to make her look like the best choice - and then in a moment of inspiration one of them says "Trump".

    18. Re: wonder why by dbIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Populism - speak about the obvious problems to distract from having no plan to actually do something about it. It's a nice trick and more effective than the people that state the reality that it's going to take years to climb out of the hole and there may be another bubble about to burst.

      I think the last President or potential President to tell the people the unpolished truth was Jimmy Carter, and after what happened to him nobody running is going to dare to suggest that time, hard work and a shitload of tax money is going to be needed to fix some things.

    19. Re: wonder why by dbIII · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's really a poverty problem and US politics is about the top end of town. Trying to fix racism issues without fixing poverty issues does not get a lot done.

    20. Re: wonder why by AlterEager · · Score: 5, Funny

      It makes just as much sense as women saying they are going to vote for Hillary because she has a vagina.

      That makes those women sexiest, but they will never admit it.

      Personally I find women with vaginas to be the sexiest, that's true.

    21. Re: wonder why by AlterEager · · Score: 5, Informative

      His policies are on his website: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/p...

      Click through - the stances are quite firm and there is quite a lot of detail. On a number of issues I consider him more progressive than Hillary.

      "Progressive"? Maybe. Insane, yes.

      Look at his tax plans:

      1. If you are single and earn less than $25,000, or married and jointly earn less than $50,000, you will not owe any income tax. That removes nearly 75 million households â" over 50% â" from the income tax rolls. They get a new one page form to send the IRS saying, âoeI win,â those who would otherwise owe income taxes will save an average of nearly $1,000 each.

      2. All other Americans will get a simpler tax code with four brackets â" 0%, 10%, 20% and 25% â" instead of the current seven. This new tax code eliminates the marriage penalty and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) while providing the lowest tax rate since before World War II.

      3. No business of any size, from a Fortune 500 to a mom and pop shop to a freelancer living job to job, will pay more than 15% of their business income in taxes. This lower rate makes corporate inversions unnecessary by making Americaâ(TM)s tax rate one of the best in the world.

      4. No family will have to pay the death tax. You earned and saved that money for your family, not the government. You paid taxes on it when you earned it

      And he claims "Doesn't add to our debt and deficit".

      This is madness.

    22. Re: wonder why by kheldan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I have no idea if it's 'racist or sexist' and really don't care, but I do know this: Trump doesn't give a damn about these IT workers, he's just doing this as a publicity stunt. Trump is part of the 1% one way or another, and as such he'll look out for the rest of the 1%, and to hell with the 99% (which includes these displaced IT workers). It's all smoke and mirrors and bullshit.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
  2. Globalization by Etherwalk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It turns out that lowering barriers to commerce increases competition.

    This helps the guy who is buying the goods and services. Which mostly means whoever owns the company that uses or re-sells those services. It helps the 1% because they own the companies which profit by, for example, employing IT workers. It occasionally helps normal people, if the companies that are reselling or using the services are in tight competition, but mostly it helps the 1%--or in this case, the owners of Disney stock.

    It hurts the guy who is selling the goods and services, at least in the markets with strong demand. That's why American Industry and the remaining small farms mostly disappeared--you could buy the stuff cheaper elsewhere, so people did. On the other hand, you can probably buy cheaper random-thing-X, so long as there is still competition among foreigners after the American producer went out of business.

    1. Re:Globalization by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, the free trade agreements were supposed to let us get our toys cheap. Instead, the prices kept going up, the quality went to shit, jobs are gone, and wages are stagnant. The only people to benefit are the middle-men who buy cheap, sell dear, and pocket the difference.

      And it's naive to think the politicos will balk at destroying the domestic IT sector, after destroying everything else.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  3. The Future of Desktop Support... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If visa restrictions arrive, IT services firms may increase reliance on web-based "knowledge transfer" to avoid having visa workers at an employer's site.

    If a computer need to be re-image, the user will have to FedEx the computer to India, wait three months for the computer to return, and find their PST file missing from Outlook. That should save a lot of money.

  4. Increasingly Nervous Man by SixHourPostingLimit · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder what all those currently hysterical people screaming about Trump being a Nazi and how all of tech is a sexist, bigoted, cesspit of male nerd privilege will do if Trump is actually elected on the back of the massive surge of US voter discontentment?

    My guess is that the Hipsters will have their beards shaved off within 8 months and the 3 piece suit (and Trumplocked hair) will make a comeback likes it's nineteen-eighty-yuppie all over again. A word to the wise gentlement, the geeks, techies, and especially the gamers to have been on the receiving end of your bullshit all have memories like fucking elephants, so don't expect a medal for a change of heart.

    If Hillary becomes president, I think our next election will end up being between Hilter and Mao.

  5. Re:I've said this over and over again by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The role of government isn't to take away that option and force people to waste their money supporting/subsidizing Zenith.

    No, but if our government is truly opposed to e.g. slavery, then it ought not to encourage trade with nations which use slave labor.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Re:I've said this over and over again by Alomex · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sanders and Trump are the only ones actually listening to the American public.

    Trump isn't listening to the public, he's pandering to the public.

    I don't agree with Sanders' policies but at least he's self consistent.

    Trump is just a snake oil salesman, depending on the good will of the American people. The same nice folks who voted for Bush Jr because he seemed like one of them, only to turn into one of the worst presidents in recent memory, blowing a trillion dollars in an unnecessary war (from the "fiscally responsible" party no less). Ditto with Trump, he's the likeable fellow who sells you a lemon at the used car lot.

  7. Re:I've said this over and over again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    US foreign aid to Mexico, currently $560 million a year.
    Wall cost, from $4 billion to $20 billion (John Oliver's inflated number). so between 8 and 40 years foreign aid to Mexico cut and you pay for wall. Reduce welfare given to illegals from Mexico and wall is paid for sooner. That is not raising taxes on US citizens a single cent, and making Mexico "pay for it". Typically budgeting at Federal level is done over 10 year period, so that gives Trump about $5.6 billion for a wall using GAO numbers, and a bit more if he can estimate welfare costs for them as well.

    Mexico can go fuck themselves if they think the US protecting its own border is a bad thing. Their presidents talking that way on US television just makes the majority agree with the wall more.

  8. Hillary and Bill also, so what's the point by huckamania · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's go with the assumption posited so frequently by the press that Donald Trump called women Bimbos and Pigs. He never said 'All women are bimbos and pigs'. He said 'Rosie O'Donnel is a pig' and 'Megyn Kelly is a bimbo'. By this same logic, it could be said that Bill Clinton thinks all women want a cigar up their coochie, which explains a lot really.

    Same thing with illegal immigrants. Trump never said 'All illegal immigrants are murderers, rapists and drug dealers'. Maybe that is what you heard, but in reality that is what he said Mexico is sending us. Along with some good people. There were good Nazis and good Communists and good Anarchists, Chumbawamba and Noam Chomsky I guess, but none of that matters. Being a nation of immigrants doesn't mean we have no system of immigration. We have had varying levels of control through out our history. Until now, where there is a system that is being completely ignored and subverted by Presidential decree.

    The H1B stuff is more of the same. There is direct evidence of companies violating key provisions and except for social media and the press, not much is being done.

    If nothing else, Trump running means the Democrats and about 1/2 the Republicans will never again be able to offer amnesty for a promise to build the wall. That ship has sailed.

  9. Re:Here's why by dryeo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Can anyone tell me why temporarily banning Muslim immigration from conflict areas is a bad idea? Seems like a common-sense approach to me.

    A couple of points.
    Most (all?) the recent terrorist acts in the west have been homegrown, not imports. For example the recent Belgium and French instigators were just common small time hoods who felt very alienated in their home countries and banning their kindred makes them feel even more alienated. Shit they weren't even particularly religious, which is why they went to ISIS rather the Al Quada. (ISIS don't care if recruits are very religious with many recruits just joining for money, important when there is no work)
    It plays into the narrative that ISIS is trying to paint, namely that the west hates Muslims so lets go to war. Along with the west bombing them, starving them and screwing with their affairs, a ban just expands the hatred.
    It is also leverage that the local authoritarian types can use to gain power. You just have to look at this election, which seems to consist of mostly extreme authoritarian types playing on fear.

    --
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  10. So many people miss the obvious by dbIII · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Trump IS the establishment and has been in it since birth so I really don't get why people think he's an "outsider". He used his party connections four times to escape from consequences of bankruptcy. Also this is not his first tilt at President so he's got a very firm grip on the party machinery.

    Because I didn't say something about Trump being a saint I'm sure some loser will irrelevantly bring up Hillary. Personally I think Trump is about the only choice from the last fifty years of Republican history that would make Hillary look good in comparison (even Nixon and Ford look better, and I'm still pissed off with Ford taking a bribe from Indonesia in 1975).

  11. Re:Here's why by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Can anyone tell me why temporarily banning Muslim immigration from conflict areas is a bad idea? Seems like a common-sense approach to me.

    For all the reasons others have already posted, plus:

    • It violates our constitutional prohibition on establishment of a religion.
    • There's no definitive way to determine whether someone is Muslim short of asking them and hoping that they aren't lying.

    You could, at least ostensibly, ban all immigration from those parts of the world, without regard to religious beliefs, but you cannot reasonably ban just Muslims. Beyond being pretty much impossible, it just isn't the right thing to do.

    --

    Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  12. Re:Here's why by trout007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So what you are saying is that Muslims are so irrational and dangerous that if we don't let them into our country they will hate us and try to kill us? That doesn't help your case. If I'm not allowed in someones house or country I don't hate them I just find somewhere else to go.

    --
    I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.