Posted on 02/04/2006 4:38:34 AM PST by Tyche
Making a strong pitch for America to stay competitive in the face of emerging economies such as India and China, President George W Bush has urged the Congress to raise the number of H-1B visas that allow companies to hire foreign workers for scientific and high tech jobs.
"Congress needs to understand that nations like India, China, Japan, Korea and Canada all offer tax incentives that are permanent. In other words, we live in a competitive world. We want to be the leader in this world," Bush said in a speech in Minnesota on Thursday.
To fill vacant jobs in the US, Bush urged the Congress to lift current limit on H-1B visas that allow foreign workers to get jobs in the United States. The Congress in 2005 capped at 65,000 the number of H-1B visas, a third of the 195,000 allowed during the technology boom.
"I think it's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America, to limit their number. So I call upon Congress to be realistic and reasonable and raise that cap," Bush said, but did not say by how much he wanted the limit lifted.
He said that one part of the agenda to stay competitive was to study math and science, a theme he touched on in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday.
"It's one thing to research, but if you don't have somebody in that lab, well… And so I got some ideas for the Congress to consider. The first is to emphasize math and science early, and to make sure that the courses are rigorous enough that our children can compete globally," Bush said in a speech at the 3M Corporation.
He said there are more high-tech jobs in America today than people available to fill them. "So what do we do about that? And the reason it's important -- and the American citizen has got to understand it's important -- is if we don't do something about how to fill those high-tech jobs here, they'll go somewhere else where somebody can do the job."
"There are some who say, we can't worry about competition. It doesn't matter, it's here. It's a real aspect of the world in which we live," he said.
"And so one way to deal with this problem, and probably the most effective way, is to recognize that there's a lot of bright engineers and chemists and physicists from other lands that are either educated here, or received an education elsewhere but want to work here. And they come here under a programme called H1B visas," Bush said.
He said America should not fear competition. "It's important for us not to lose our confidence in changing times. It's important for us not to fear competition but welcome it."
Senior administration officials noted that the number of H-1B visas has fallen to 65,000 which in their estimation was 'too low' and that it was imperative 'to bump that up.'
". . . some of reports have called for increases of 10,000; others between 20,000 and 40,000. So there is a number of options on the table to be considered. But we'll work with Congress on that," said Claude Allen, assistant to the President for domestic policy.
I see about 80%. Yes, I'm making that determination based on heavy accents and the number of times I have to repeat myself on the phone.
Does anyone else see this?
Are these the H1-B's that we so desperately needed over the last few years, now doing sales jobs?
I've always thought that's the fatal flaw in the Republican party.
See post #209
I've delivered papers, washed dishes, flipped burgers, mowed lawns, hauled bricks, manned artillery pieces, shelved books, taught calculus, programmed computers, analysed stocks, done formal modeling, taught computing and modeling and helped research scientific best sellers, and I'm not 40 yet.
Somethings not jiving. Care to explain?
Bush is killing our beautiful America at every opportunity he can get. He is making it clear he is focused on a borderless society, and a global economy. Face it BushBots, your guy has screwed us all...
It is 64% higher than in 1990, while the CPI has moved up only 54% in that time. Total economic growth has been still faster, because there are 25 million additional people working, as well.
The chart is for starting salaries for graduates of a four-year program. If you are looking for the answers to your own questions, you're looking in the wrong spot.
Why are economic doom and gloomers always reduced to ad hominems? I don't mind, it gets them nothing. But I consider it instructive about their world-view. They apparently live in envious hatred of imaginary conspirational classes, and think anyone who disagrees with them can't possibly just honestly have a different opinion.
"I've delivered papers, washed dishes, flipped burgers, mowed lawns, hauled bricks, manned artillery pieces, shelved books, taught calculus, programmed computers, analysed stocks, done formal modeling, taught computing and modeling and helped research scientific best sellers, and I'm not 40 yet."
Fourteen different careers and you still haven't made enough money to retire. Don't give up maybe there will be a limit on just what positions foreigners can hold and then the competition won't be so tough.
Fair is fair.
Yes, 40 years ago the situation was quite different! Now I understand - you are a New Deal baby.
Why is anyone not agreeing with you an economic doom and gloomer?
I have started numerous threads on this subject that are extremely instructive on MY world view, but you're not posting on those.
Care to give it a shot?
you'll should be "he'll". No coffee yet.
Hey, folks, guess what? The United States government isn't supposed to be the World's Greates Employment Office! Where do we see that in the Constitution? Is it one of the penumbras the Supreme Court hasn't found yet?
Do any of you have any idea of the number of foreign nationals who come to this country for advanced technical degrees? Take a look at just about any university's graduation program and you'll see an example of what I'm talking about.
Are y'all wanting to exclude them, too? After all, some of them might be terrorists -- or turn into terrorists on return to their home country.
Which is where they'd be headed if it weren't for H-1B visas. Getting a degree in physics or math is, for many fortunate individuals, a rather trivial exercise compared to getting a green card. Colleges and universities absolutely love foreign students who pay full-rate tuition (that subsidizes our own kids who get in-state tuition breaks of typically 70-80% of the actual cost) and boost the school's diversity index to keep the equality police at bay.
How many American kids are kept out of grad school on account of foreign competition for available slots? You can bet it's plenty. American universities have a deserved reputation as some of the best in the world in science and engineering, so why wouldn't an Indian or Iraqi or Korean or Nigerian with the requisite talent want to apply? Are we going to push for a federal law restricting student visas, too?
Trade protectionism is a failed policy that leads to poverty, political turmoil and war.
Employment (and, by extension, immigration) restrictions prevent employers from hiring the employees they need.
In times past, Democrats were the ones wanting to force workers to join unions in order to get a job, saying to consumers, "look for the union label." Americans bought Detroit iron, the auto workers got rich at our expense and people traded cars in after two years because they were worn out after three.
Some Democrats are still trade protectionists (Gephart for example) but others (such as Bill Clinton) learned that you cannot compete in a world-wide market by keeping labor costs high.
Bush may have a lot of faults in other areas, but his devotion to free trade at least partially makes up for them.
You're right, and it's a pretty sorry state of affairs when all we can say about our leadership is that he isn't quite as bad as the other guy. At least he tells us to our face that he is selling us out to the highest bidder.
He said that. I said, 'fair is fair' in return.
Mistake on my part.
I got a thread that we should be posting on... lets move this over there rather than throwing mud over here. We will see who's made of what on that one.
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