American Companies, States Firing American Workers, Importing Guest Workers To Replace Them [Video]

PatDollard.com ^ | 03/02/2015

[rottndog]

Horse manure....

You’re telling me that in all the decades of the ‘skilled labor shortage’ high tech IT companies did not have the ability to hook up with colleges around the country and create pipelines for students tailored to do that kind of work??

Wrong...they don’t want to. They want to import cheap labor. How can you possibly explain away firing American workers who were doing those jobs, and replacing them with cheap imports?

[9YearLurker]

Those global companies that are successful tend to have, say, manufacturing in Brazil, customer service in India, etc.

And, yes, commodities work in global markets as well, except they tend to have higher shipment costs than the more intellectual product of highly skilled employees. We can not allow in more highly-skilled competition, but that means that companies based in less expensive markets will accelerate their gains on competitors in the US. (E.g., Indian and other Asian tech companies.)

Do you think the Apples of the US manufacture their products in the US? Not bringing in more high-skill labor simply means that type of company will offshore more of their engineering and other high-skill labor.

[central_va]

Go to China and promote your BS.

[rottndog]

So you’re acknowledging that the whole ‘skilled labor shortage’ need for H1B visas is a lie?

The H1B visa is a about importing CHEAP labor to drive down labor costs. At least be honest.

[9YearLurker]

Or, to keep down labor costs—I agree.

The alternative in a lot of cases, however, is exporting those jobs abroad, where costs are lower.

That’s the tradeoff.

[rottndog]

So it’s okay to fire an American worker and replace him with a cheap import?

[RideForever]

Old story, with even older solution. Solution is variant of W. Edwards Deming’s program that elevated Japan after WWII.

Impose an income sur-tax of 20%, 35%, 50% on wages that exceed 20x, 50x, 200x the lowest paid employee or sub-contractor involved in a business protected by U.S. patents, copyrights, or legal jurisdiction, regardless of location of employee.

There. Fixed it.

[9YearLurker]

I’m stating the current dynamics.

As to whether it is morally okay or not? Well, I don’t think I’d want to limit the right of a business owner to set up an operation overseas or to hire overseas-based contractors.

Once that’s established, I think it’s kind of difficult to keep some business owners from wanting to move aspects of their operations to where it’s more cost effective.

Likewise, if I were an employer with a high-cost employee, but I realized I could hire someone to do the work for significantly less than that employee would accept, I wouldn’t want to be forced to keep the higher-cost employee.

The trouble with most job protectionism is that it can only be done at the violation of rights of others. And, those others tend to be employers, who are pretty useful when it comes to sustaining jobs.

NY, IL or CA can enforce ever greater costs and constraints on their employers—but they can’t stop them from up and moving to TX or FL, where the costs and regulations are lower.

[9YearLurker]

How is that like what Deming did in Japan?

[kabar]

What is good for business is not necessarily what is best for the country. These global businesses have no loyalty or allegiance to the US, just their stockholders. They privatize the profits and socialize the costs. Milton Friedman said, “You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state.” We have both. Immigrants and illegal aliens use the welfare system to a significantly greater extent than the native born. They also vote more than two to one Democrat.

Not bringing in more high-skill labor simply means that type of company will offshore more of their engineering and other high-skill labor.

The point is that we are bringing in more high skilled labor than we need. We have a surplus. This depresses wages and costs Americans jobs. Our college graduates are saddled with huge loans and then must compete with imported foreign labor. We have just had the two largest decades of legal immigration in American history with over 27 million entering this country during the period 1990-2010. What impact has this had on our economy, social safety net, and the national debt? We see a widening wealth gap, stagnant wages, and the lowest labor participation rate in 37 years. Does anyone really think that you can import tens of millions of foreign workers and not have the impact it is having on the middle class? Or the erosion of the values of our Founders?

[DoodleDawg]

Likewise, if I were an employer with a high-cost employee, but I realized I could hire someone to do the work for significantly less than that employee would accept, I wouldn’t want to be forced to keep the higher-cost employee.

And in doing so you most likely throw away years of experience and have an employee with no knowledge of your business, your customers both internal and external, your applications and your environment. So that lower cost employee will spend years taking twice as long as the experienced employee to do the same amount of work. And by the time he/she has the experience then they're a high cost employee so you can fire them and start all over again.

[GOPJ]

What RINO - give names.

[rottndog]

I appreciate clarity and truth above all else....

It’s good enough for me that you acknowledge that the ‘high tech labor shortage’ excuse for the drive for more H-1B imports is a lie.

Too bad so much of the corporatist elite are incapable of the same honesty.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

The key term is "Managed Services". Some company (can be an old, well known one) approaches a high-management person or persons with an incredible deal to reduce costs by using his company to "manage the IT services" for their company. By reduced costs, they mean contracted employees (usually offshore) that have a tenancy to move quickly to other companies, especially if they become proficient. This leaves the "bottom of the barrel" to manage the companies assets. I have seen some of the bigger outages by these companies caused by these contractors needing to "look busy", and therefore making changes that end up causing large outages that the previous (American) workers would know about, because they setup the environment in the first place.

In pursuit of "looking busy", they spend a lot of time invoking vendors for everything that they see when monitoring and don't understand (which is a lot). I've also seen nepotism in the ranks too (All in the family), regardless of ability...

Yup, a dream come true for Obama & company. Destroy the most amazing country in the world with a pen and a phone...

Or was it Clinton: "Stroke of the pen, law of the land!"

[central_va]

he trouble with most job protectionism is that it can only be done at the violation of rights of others.

There is not right to Free Trade. Your rights and end at the waters edge.

[9YearLurker]

I don’t remember reading that in the Constitution.

[Alas Babylon!]

True, but the cost of labor cannot be the only factor. I suppose I could hire savages from the rainforest of Brazil cheaper than even Indians, but would they KNOW how to even do the job, let along bring value—and therefore, profitability—to my company?

So much hinges on that. I would contend that not everyone outsources or uses HB-1, because they simply do not see the value of it compared to the skill of their more highly paid employees.

All business is Darwinian—the survival of the fittest. That Congress is playing crony capitalism by either subsidizing or penalizing certain industries should be very troubling to a true Libertarian. Every country in the world, even the libertarian ones, have immigration laws, defend their borders, etc. To throw that all to the wind and let unbridled immigration would be a total disaster for that country, and frankly, this is what worries so much of us. Libertarians need to come up with a comprehensive immigration policy that does the least harm to their own citizens.

I would contend that Orrin Hatch, et al, know what they’re doing when it comes to promoting HB-1, which is raking in the contributions/lobbyist dollars, etc. It has very little to do with their sense of duty or wisdom on economic theory.

[central_va]

Art. 1 Sect 8: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

You have no right to Free trade with foreign nations. You have unassailable rights to free trade with other US States and territories of the United States.

[Alas Babylon!]

Seriously? Here what the US Constitution says:

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States

To borrow Money on the credit of the United States

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures

[onedoug]

Of all the universities in the US offering computer science programs there are not enough?

I’m more suspicious of something foul afoot.