Er, last time I checked (80 x 103) X (1 x 106) = 8 x 109
You picked an outlandish number for average salary and the assume 100% of it leaves the U.S. Ergo, the worker paid zero taxes and lives here for free and never needs a bite to eat.
They pay ZERO US taxes. They ARE taxed on Social Security, but that money goes to their NATIVE country..
Sure they pay for lodging and food, but the majority of their wages go back to their native country, where when they return they'll live a life of luxury. If they even spend HALF of their money on food and lodging, then 40 BILLION dollars is still leaving our economy, as American workers would have spent and/or invested that money HERE in the US. If we take into consideration that many engineers working as consultants were making upwards of $60/hour (~120K/yr), and many permanent employees were earning upwards of $85,000 - $100,000 per year, the $80,000 average is quite conservative. That would include entry level workers in the $40,000 range, where there were fewer of them who lost their jobs than there were higher paid workers.
Where can I get one of these magic Visas?
Immigrate to India. Call sinkspur's overseas sweat shop service, maybe he could help you out. If you come here on a visa, be prepared to work 70-80 hours a week or more for about half to three quarters of the usual salary..
Er, last time I checked (80 x 103) X (1 x 106) = 80 x 109
You see, us old goats are getting rusty. The longer we're out of work, the rustier we get, and the harder it'd be to get back into the work force. Perhaps that's the whole idea....
He pays full taxes, including income tax, state tax and social security. He pays rent, food, gas, insurance.... He pays everything, including donations to charities, etc. None of his money was 'sent home' (you stated falsely that 100% of it is sent home), his money is being invested in American institutions. And the average H1-B salary IS NOT 80,000, but closer to 55,000 to 60,000.