Tight US immigration forces outsourcing: Bill Gates

AFP via Breitbart ^ | 3/12/2008 | No attribution

[PreciousLiberty]

US high-tech companies are being forced to outsource more jobs overseas because of outdated restrictions on immigration, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told Congress Wednesday.

Gates, echoing a longstanding complaint from the technology sector, told a congressional panel that the US immigration system "makes attracting and retaining high-skilled immigrants exceptionally challenging for US firms."

"Congress's failure to pass high-skilled immigration reform has exacerbated an already grave situation," Gates said in remarks prepared for delivery to a hearing of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee.

"As a result, many US firms, including Microsoft, have been forced to locate staff in countries that welcome skilled foreign workers to do work that could otherwise have been done in the United States, if it were not for our counterproductive immigration policies."

Gates said the limits on so-called H-1B visas aimed at highly skilled professionals are far too low for the rapidly growing tech sector.

He said the current cap of 65,000 H-1B visas "is arbitrarily set and bears no relation to the US economy's demand for skilled professionals."

[Sig Sauer P220]

Pedro can’t speak English, but he can develop a tremendous operating system.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

As someone who has been using Bill's Products for more years than I care to admit (going back to Windows 95), not to mention all of the failures, crashes, lost data, near-nervous breakdowns, etc., I have one thing to say to Mr. Gates:

F*CK MICROSOFT

[Tarkus2040]

Force the a**hole to outsource, and hit him hard with outsourcing tariffs. That's what I'd do if I were "king" of the country. Punish him for not hiring home-grown talent at a decent wage. After all, what's the difference between outsourcing and bringing foreign programmers here? Either way, American programmers have no chance at getting those jobs.

But keep throwing away billions on "fighting" AIDS in Africa, Gates. You know how to make money (*cough* by outsourcing and screwing the skilled American worker *cough*), but you sure don't know how to spend it.

[polymuser]

Oh, that Bill...he says the darndest things! He’s just cute as a button when he says stuff like that. Always good for a chuckle. Money sure doesn’t equal greatness.

[bamahead]

Yep, Bill Gates is driving down tech salaries to embarrassing levels and then wants American kids to study science and math for peanut wages.

IBM is doing the exact same thing right now.

[bamahead]

ping

[Califreak]

It’s not just greed on Gates’ part.

He has all those stockholders to consider, doesn’t he?

Still deplorable though.

He is creating the vicious circle.

Truth be told, they don’t really want to hire Americans, period.

[Califreak]

>Dear Bill,
1. Raise the salaries and U. S. citizens will do the jobs.

2. Use the Gates Foundation’s billions to train workers who have lost their jobs in manufacturing to learn tech jobs.

3. Learn a little public relations. Having the richest man in the world complaining that he can’t get U. S. workers to work at the salary someone from India is willing to take is more than a bit hypocritical. Spend your billions on suffering U. S. workers instead of in Africa.<

Your entire post makes me want to boycott these people!

[ShadowAce]

[Paleo Conservative]

[ShadowAce]

Your entire post makes me want to boycott these people!

I do. My personal PCs just have Linux on them.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

2. Use the Gates Foundation’s billions to train workers who have lost their jobs in manufacturing to learn tech jobs.

Depending upon what you're talking about, that probably isn't possible - even in theory.

[Vigilanteman]

If this were true, then why do hi-tech companies pack seminars explaining how not to hire Americans so they can get H1B's instead?

Carnegie Mellon American IT gradutes right here in Pittsburgh caught them on film right here in Pittsburgh at such a seminar just two years ago. There was enough embarassment over the fallout that some of the American graduates actually got hired.

CMU is still turning out graduates and they are still looking for jobs.

[Tarkus2040]

Windows XP Pro “student edition” here. ;-D

[cripplecreek]

I can’t help but wonder what happens when the business world runs out of their low wage workers. I saw a story about rising wages in China this morning. Some wages have doubled in the past year so jobs are being outsourced to Vietnam.

[kellynla]

“How bout paying more mister Billionaire”

BINGO!

We have a winner!

[NRA2BFree]

US high-tech companies are being forced to outsource more jobs overseas because of outdated restrictions on immigration, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told Congress Wednesday.

He is such a liar! Thousands of Americans were laid off of the very jobs he's talking about. WHY, can't he rehire them? Oh, sorry. I forgot. Because he can rape overseas workers for less than Americans will work for. Not surprising coming from a liberal globalist. Will someone please explain to me what credentials give him the right to go before Congress to begin with? He is NOT an elected representative of Americans. I'm fed up with these wealthy elitists telling our Congress critters what America needs to do.

[Chameleon]

WOW....

Stunning to see so much populist, anti-free trade, pro-protectionism sentiment here on Free Republic.

[cripplecreek]

Stunning to see so much populist, anti-free trade, pro-protectionism sentiment here on Free Republic.

Get used to it. It's the majority sentiment in the USA. Don't like it? Move to utopian china.

[Califreak]

IMOHO, we could use a tad more protectionism instead of government implemented and sanctioned policies that are killing us by degrees.

I’m seeing these policies more recently as a national security issue, not one of populism.

Free Trade and these work visas are cutting wages.

Outsourcing is making us far too dependent on other countries.

I don’t see how this is a good thing.