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Tech Takes Its K-12 CS Education and Immigration Crisis To the DNC (cnet.com)
theodp writes: In early 2013, Code.org and FWD.us coincidentally emerged after Microsoft suggested tech's agenda could be furthered by creating a crisis linking U.S. kids' lack of computer science savvy to tech's need for tech worker visas. Three years later, CNET's Marguerite Reardon reports that tech took its K-12 computer science and immigration crisis to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, where representatives from Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon called for the federal government to invest in more STEM education and reform immigration policies -- recurring themes the industry hopes to influence in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. "We believe in the importance of high-skilled immigration coupled with investments in education," said Microsoft President Brad Smith, repeating the Microsoft National Talent Strategy. The mini-tech conference also received some coverage in the New Republic, where David Dayen argues that the DNC is one big corporate bride.
If by "career" you mean the dipshits that get an over-priced CS degree, are bitter because they assumed that their first job will have a big fat salary to pay that off and corner office, and then spend the next 20 years trying to avoid any new project so they can keep surfing the gaming and cosplay sites, you might have a point. But if you use the word "career" in a more valid sense for people who continue to widen their knowledge base to include non-tech skills like writing and project management, and who tackle new challenges head-on, then there's a damn good work to be had. I personally make really good money and I might have to work a night or a weekend once every several months. I dont have to deal with any customers at all because I design the solutions the "career" employees you're talking about have to implement and support. My job is frustrating as hell, but that revolves entirely around the aforementioned idiots, and my non-tech bosses selling shit-brained ideas they haven't discussed with their tech staff, and that down-side is not at all unlike any other career. Your argument is like saying that going into the restaurant business is stupid because you'll be washing dishes for the rest of your life. Or that going into the construction business is stupid because you will be installing toilets forever. Yeah, sure, if you're inept or lazy that''s true in any "career". And if you think you missed an opportunity to skip and dance off to a job that you just love doing every day, well, welcome to the real world and 98% of the workforce.
"But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,..." - Nancy Pelosi
Exactly. So kill the indenture part, then they will work at about market price. Suddenly, hiring H1-Bs becomes way less economical, since you can't pay them artificially low wages.
I'm sure you believe that, but it simply isn't the case. You are talking about companies with a seemingly suicidal PC tact. You really have to take a step back when seeing something like that and ask yourself "if this greedy megacorp is out for every dollar why would they take such a massively racist stance when it hurts their profit?"
The answer is actually pretty straightforward, as Warren Buffet said: "There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning."
They don't want middle-class people raising more upper-middle-class people because ultimately people don't go from rags to riches, financial security is made incrementally over generations and there isn't enough room at the top for everyone in a resource-constrained economy. More people who are well-off means more people who want more than what they have on a level that would lead to competition for the upper class. The simplest way for them to avoid this issue is to push the narrative that white males are bad because most of their potential competition are white males.
They love helping the poor, the immigrants and so on - because people are very grateful to go from poor to middle class while being oblivious to the nature of wealth. That isn't to say the children of those poor-to-middle-class people won't suffer the same fate as the current middle class, they will if left unchecked.
TL;DR: the elite keep the poor and middle classes in a state of perpetual reflux to avoid competition, the only way to avoid it from where we are is to cut down on immigration because it's ultimately a balancing act of how many resources there are vs how many people want them.
You are exactly right - MOD PARENT UP.
In fact the ultimate goal is much more insidious. Currently, the global median household income is at $9,733, and the goal is to level wages in ALL countries to the same place. Ultimately, some country's income will rise (where the multinational corporations are building factories and offices right now), but in most countries of the West is must be significantly be reduced. Note that's household income, which in many cases is two earners per household.
Workers wages are, in fact, the ONLY commodity price that is being depressed right now. All others (food, energy, housing, etc.) is on the rise. You can argue by how much by citing ShadowStats vs. the US BLS, but you still see the same trend.
Interesting the globalist party (a.k.a. the Democrats) continue to push this agenda. The symbolism during the convention was really in-your-face. More bridges, less borders, more flow, faster equalization of wages. While the elites continue to amass wealth and ignore countries (the wealthy don't NEED countries - their wealth provides them ultimate mobility, influence, and protection).
They don't really need the middle class at all. Sure, they are using them right now as a cash cow to keep the funds flowing, but ultimately they are more trouble than they are worth. Better to reduce them to nothing and get as quickly as possible to a 2-class system. With the cost of living increasing and wages being "globally equalized" as quickly as possible, soon that's what they will have. The important thing to do now is to demonize the nationalists as racist, xenophobic, uneducated neanderthals clinging to sky-fairy religions, to avoid things like voting for a Brexit and electing nationalists like Trump.
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia
All of that is true, except when Government interferes with consensual agreements, in the name of "protecting" one party or another. Unfortunately, those with power end up with unlimited amount of "protection" and those without have none. The battle ground for power is where the fight actually resides, and the "average" person has no power.
And therein is one of the big reasons why I am a Libertarian. Group Power is tyranny. Liberty is for one and for all, or it is for none.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.