Posted on 11/17/2002 7:03:27 AM PST by FlyingA
As a consultant, I've been hit by the slowing of the economy and the destruction of the tech sector, I've recently caught myself dwelling over the prosperous times of the late 90's when I was making 6 figures. Being one to want to know the wheres, whats... and particularly the why's... I started researching the issues behind the downfall of the tech sector within the U.S.
While this is hardly a comprehensive explanation of what’s wrong with the economy and every aspect of the tech sector, it is in my opinion the quickest and most obvious thing that’s wrong with it today.
What I found out was that through out the mid & late 90's... Large software corporations were experiencing a very public and published labor shortage of skilled tech workers in America. Companies like Microsoft and Oracle among other large corporations began to lobby Washington to increase the cap on H1-B visas from 65,000 to 130,000 per fiscal year looking to get the bill "American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act" (S.B. 2045) passed.
This bill received a lot of resistance from 1996, when it was first proposed, through 2000 and looked like it was dead several times. Due to amendments on both sides of the isle it remained alive and in Oct 2000, then President Clinton signed the bill S.B. 2045 into law. Which is effective from 2000-2003 and allows the number of 6 year H1-B visa to ultimately be increased to 195,000 per fiscal year. Over the last 2 years, the number of individuals in America under H1-B visa has risen to 650,000 people.
36% of the unemployed 1.8 million Americans could be working if it wasn't for this law. It seems to me that we as high tech workers need to right our Congressmen & Senators and put a stop to this law.....
FlyingA
Quite possible, but why is that a good thing? Almost 300M of Americans would have to pay their inflated salaries. Why shouls they? Why should I pay you --- through higher privces of the company you work for --- $100,000 if I can buy the same service fro $60,000?
My advice to you is not to look at govermental actions but to study a bit of economics.
Explain to me how it is 'good economics' to put Americans - who, by the way, contribute to the American economy - out of work and replace them with foriegners who, in most cases, send their earnings back to their families in other countries?
That's not an answer.
Sorry, but I don't need a book to tell me what I know from experience. I was in the IT field for over 20 years and this is one of the reasons I left. I got sick and tired of correcting the screw-ups do to the lack of communication. It also disgusted me to see how these people are being taken advantage of by corporations. They are treated like indentured slaves. I wanted no part of that!
You can drive a car for 20 years and have no clue about how the engine works --- of why it moves at all, for that matter. You can eat all your life and have no clue about the structure of what you eat.
You can feel warmth but not know where it comes from and why you feel it.
An even stronger example: you cannot know anything about elementary particles from experience.
From your field: you can be programming some SQL statements for 20 years and have no idea how to normalize a database or why should relational databases need to be normalized in the first place. That is the difference between experience and education.
I was in the IT field for over 20 years and this is one of the reasons I left. I got sick and tired of correcting the screw-ups do to the lack of communication. That is one of the ways to deal with the problem.
Another is to stay, become a manager and correct the situation.
It also disgusted me to see how these people are being taken advantage of by corporations. They are treated like indentured slaves. I wanted no part of that!
Judging from what you said so far, you do not understand how corporations function.
I am not surprized: you cannot understand other people from experience: for that you need their experience, and you cannot sit on two chairs at the same time. An alternative is to read a book, but you are against education.
Ditto.......
Another is to stay, become a manager and correct the situation.
That's one of the funniest things I've read yet.
Judging from what you said so far, you do not understand how corporations function.
Judging from what you said that I found hilarious, neither do you! ROTFLMAO!!!
Have a good night.
I have been reading some of your posts and I agree. I do think you may be fighting a loosing battle.
You are arguing from a standpoint of loving your country and its people and wanting it to continue. Some are arguing from a standpoint of filling their pockets - with no allegiance to this country. This is a frightening thing - but I do believe some people are espousing this.
Now do I believe those people have any real core beliefs - no. I think they believe they sound so 'cutting edge', 'worldly' 'global', etc. when they spout that but since many Americans today have never had to make a sacrifice of any kind to keep this country going - they just can't imagine what it took to build it and keep it.
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