Why H-1B Visas are Bad for America (Big Business Scam Alert!)

FrontPage Magazine ^ | Robert Locke

[Dat]

You guys are sounding like Naderists more each day. A "living wage" of $60 000/ year? Greedy corporations? This is conservatism? I think not.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

If you're a family with two or three kids, a car, possibly two, a home is $60,000 a year, which after taxes is about 35,000-$40,000 a middle-class income?

I've got nothing against corporate heads making good money, it's their business and they're entitled to a decent salary. That's why I support the conservative position of less taxes and regulations so businesses can prosper and reinvest in better equipment and more employees.

But does that mean I should support Congress allowing corporations to fire Americans and replace them with foreigners so that executive can get a 2 million dollar bonus at Christmas time? I think not.

These businesses better wake up and realize that putting their own citizens out of work to imported indentured slaves in the long run is not in their interest. They need us as much as we need them.

[koba]

You claim that H-1bs are indentured slaves. All the H-1bs I know in the computer field make $60,000/year. Remeber that the average salary in America is under $30,000/year. Half of the H-1bs stay in America as they will get their green card, and then five years later, can become citizens. If this program is slavery then this kind of slavery is very attractive for many of the slaves.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

It's slavery to us in the sense the H-1B holders are tied to that business for however long they hold the visa. They are technically not free to move about. Also, they can't complain about working conditions or an a$$ whole boss otherwise it's back home you go. And what benefits are they getting? Are they receiving medical and vacation time? There are a variety of reasons business wants this program, it's all to their advantage, not the American workers.

[koba]

There is a lot of variance in the benefits (or lack of them) in what H-1bs receive. Some do get benefits but I'm sure many don't. They are "bound" to their employer during the 6-year period but then 50% will get their green card and will become "free." Also don't forget that druing the H-1b period many of them are making good money ($60,000/year) so they are relatively happy. Even if they go back to their country of origin, from their post of view they have succeeded. If they can save $100,000 in their working life here they can go back to their native lands and live very well. As far as the H-1bs are concerned, the program works.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

I'm very happy for the foreigners that it's a better life for them. I'm sure it is compared to where they're coming from. But this isn't their country, it's ours. And it's not some corporate hack's or Congress's to give away. If Americans are being laid off in droves while foreigners enjoy the good life (compared to what they had), then we've got a problem. Some in Congress, like Tom Tancredo understand that, and hopefully will rectify the situation very soon with legislation now pending.

[Cato]

More evidence of America going towards a service economy will feeding on cheap labor...

You sir TOTALLY MISSED the point of this article.

Read it again.

CATO

[koba]

Yeah...that's the real H-1b debate. Is there a real shortage of engineering/computer talent in this country or is this just a program to get cheaper compliant labor? Depending on who you talk to, you're going to get different answers about this.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

Do you work in the computer industry? As I mentioned in a previous post, I started out to be a computer programmer, but because of the fact of H-1B and that I'm not 20 anymore I backed off and went into something else computer related. It's my opinion this program is discouraging other Americans from taking it up as well. If that's the case, it could have a detrimental effect on national security since foreigners have less allegiance to the US.

[koba]

No. I buy and run businesses like gas stations, convienience stores, liquor stores etc. Some people in my family are in the engineering/computer field. Some of my people have come over on H-1bs and now they are in the process of gettting their green cards. I'm thinking of going to law school, but it costs $100,000 and lawyers tend to make less than a good gas station. I'll hopefully end up with a gas station in about 6 months or so.

[JoeMomma]

This is conservatism? I think not.

I guess your version of conservatism includes corporate welfare, like the H-1B visa program. By the way, corporate welfare is not conservative.

BTW ... Buchanan opposes H-1B too.

[JoeMomma]

Actually, my company is one of the good ones who put Americans first and we trumpet that fact to our customers.

I didn't hire the 50-something on my staff, but our clients are delighted with him and that's enough for me to keep him around. My boss and his boss agree. You have this false notion that training is a huge time-waster. It isn't. My mainframe guy picked up Linux and a couple of web languages quickly, and he's a profitable employee and his clients are very happy with him.

You see, there's a certain morale boost in investing in your employees. Employees with high morale and the tools to do their jobs are more productive employees. One of the reasons I got my promotion is because my management method works. You don't earn loyalty from your employees by threatening to replace them with a cheaper H-1B at any moment.

I know that people aren't productive if they are constantly worried that an H-1B could replace them with the same skills for less money. I'm aware of the general distrust of employers and corporations and the fact that loyalty is a two-way street. Companies can't expect loyalty and give none in return.

Keep employees happy and expect results from them (but not indentured servitude from them). It works. Only immoral companies would fire a good American employee for an H-1B.

[JoeMomma]

Yeah...that's the real H-1b debate. Is there a real shortage of engineering/computer talent in this country or is this just a program to get cheaper compliant labor? Depending on who you talk to, you're going to get different answers about this.

True. But the only ones complaining about the labor shortage are trade groups like ITAA, who have a vested interest in cheap labor. I've seen very few independent studies, and all of the indy studies I've read concluded that H-1B is a ploy for cheap labor. The indy studies came from conservative and liberal organizations.

The only pro-H-1B study came from ITAA -- a corporate lobbying group who has a vested interest in getting cheap labor.

[blueriver]

It is easy for you to say this because you are not loosing your career at the whim of government legislation. I am sure the doctors in this country would not appreciate if the government let in millions of foreign doctors and drove down the price of an office visit.

[Dave S]

It is easy for you to say this because you are not loosing your career at the whim of government legislation. I am sure the doctors in this country would not appreciate if the government let in millions of foreign doctors and drove down the price of an office visit.

Explain to me why an American business would prefer to hire someone from India or Pakistan to do their programming, fly them and their families here, if they could hire someone who already lives here that they can understand and communicate with at the same price.

[brat]

C's=Capitalists! We have so many here. What bothers me is that they have ZERO human compassion.

[Dat]

How is it "corporate welfare"? That is just a left-wing buzzword used against companies they do not like.

[JoeMomma]

How is it "corporate welfare"?

ummmm ... because it is funded by taxpayers solely for corporate benefit? It's especially insulting that it's used to unemploy American taxpayers to satisfy corporations' desire for cheap labor.

That is just a left-wing buzzword used against companies they do not like.

Corporate welfare is government/public assistance to corporations for the sole benefit of corporations. REAL conservatives use the term corporate welfare too -- Tom Tancredo, PAt Buchanan, Bob Barr, Tim Hutchinson, etc.

Corporate welfare is as offensive as individual welfare and should be stopped in a truly conservative environment. REAL conservatives oppose corporate welfare.

[Poohbah]

If India is such a smart country with so many brilliant programmers out-programming us, then why is their country a third world hell hole? Because they don't require of their companies what we do here, a fair wage for a day's work.

BZZZT! You got that answer wrong.

India is one of the most protectionist nations in the world. They also have, on occasion, nationalized foreign companies that were too prosperous for the taste of the Congress Party, and THAT, good sir, is a sure-fire ticket for convincing foreign capital to not bother with your company.

[Poohbah]

Replace "company" at the end of my last post with "country."