>>However, it is inevitable that disgruntled engineers and techies will complain about their plight, because someone will undercut their wages, and they want the government to "protect" their jobs here. (Of course, such protectionism would not work, since employers will respond by simply hiring foreigners over there rather than here.)<<
Even if US citizen engineers are willing to work at about the same wage as aliens, in many cases the employer will not even ask the US citizen about the salary, because:
1) Many employers won't admit it, but they do not want to hire older workers.
2) Some employers assume that US citizens are too expensive, so they don't bother to ask.
I do not advocate protectionism, and I know that some companies do hire older workers, and are willing to train them a little when necessary (for example, a programmer with 20 years experience in operating system internals would be able to learn Java pretty quickly, and would have an excellent overall feel for how everything works). I am not sure what the government should do, but I wish some companies would think about this, both for their own sakes and the stake of their country.
You've spoken truth there. My new boss, who just turned 40, has said openly (5 times and counting) that he wants "young smart guys" to fill our 30 openings. I turned 54 this year and have been put so far out to pasture I can't see the barn. A couple of the more irritated guys in the department are talking to lawyers. I won't do that because the pay is good even if I'm not invited to work on prime projects these days.
The "real solution" is one that is not iron-clad and "guaranteed to work". It's cultural. When we, at our own behest, stop buying products from companies who get a reputation for laying off "too many" citizens in favor of foreign labor, then the system sorts itself out, and we get the ends we desire... no government intrusion is needed.
Sadly, few Americans are even able to grasp such concepts as Adam Smith's invisible hand, and fewer still have the ability of implement it in their own lives.
I'm not saying I'm one of 'em, either, but I try. It's been 3 years since my last stop at the local CITGO, and really sweated out running out of gas on a cross-country trip earlier this year because of it. No French products, either... but as for domestic products... well... =^/