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To: dirtboy
I've got nearly two decades of experience in IT. I've seen plenty of programmers who work at rote tasks.

I've got over three decades doing the same. Of course, I'm not in IT per se, I'm in embedded systems programming ... hooked right into the hardware and new product development. Yes, there are rote programmers, but there are creative ones as well.

There are rote businessmen, rote real estate agents, etc. Creativity is an individual asset that must be cherished and nurished whereever it is found.

I do agree with the tone of the post. If employers give all of the jobs to people overseas, there will be no one to purchase the products in this country. The proper approach for a business is to locate in another country in order to produce products for consumption in that country.

I was recently laid off, and it took four months to find another job. My skills are top notch, and my work has made many an employer a lot of money.

25 posted on 01/31/2003 1:43:53 PM PST by GingisK
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To: GingisK
If employers give all of the jobs to people overseas, there will be no one to purchase the products in this country

Here's the problem: Most Americans, including myself up until very recently, have asked the question "But if they move the jobs offshore, we wont be able to buy their products!" I've come to realize that THEY DON'T CARE!

There are 6.3 billion people in the world. That's 6,300,000,000 potential consumers. Only 280 million of those are Americans, and less than 200 million of us are in any real "consumer" demographic (fiscally or physically). In other words, the United States only accounts for about 3% of the world’s population and 3% of the worlds consumers. From these companies’ points of view, they are MUCH better off abandoning the U.S. market and going global than they are concentrating on us.

What they miss, of course, is the fact that they are stable only so long as we are. When the U.S. economy disintegrates, so will the country, and so will its military. Without a strong U.S., what is going to stop the Indian or Chinese governments from claiming these businesses for themselves? Only the fear of repercussions from our government prevents foreign governments from interfering with our offshore businesses. When they've destroyed the U.S. through this globalism, they lose their protection.

IMO; we need to fix this problem through a few simple legal changes. 1) Eliminate the H and L programs for foreign workers, and instate an open system that forces companies to prove that an acceptable candidate doesn't exist here already. This process should include the requirement that the job be advertised through major media outlets coast to coast for at least 90 days without an acceptable applicant. If they can prove that, they can bring in a foreign worker. BUT...that foreign worker should only be brought in for the specific job, for a maximum of two years, and should have no option to remain in the U.S. afterwards. At the end of two years, the search should have to be opened up again before another foreign worker can be brought in. In addition, these companies should have to PROVE that the foreign worker is actually doing the job that was advertised. Too many companies, as the article describes, use these visas to bring in friends and family that have nothing to do with the advertised jobs. To them, the visa program is nothing but a way to dodge the regular immigration procedures. Since MANY H1B's are from Pakistan, northern India, and other muslim rich areas, any company bringing these people in should be subject to frequent random audits.

2) We should slap an immediate 100% tax on any wages paid to foreign workers in the U.S. (not counting permanent green card holders, visiting foreign students working their way through college, or workers in seasonal agricultural or construction trades), a 200% tax on wages paid to foreign workers outside the U.S., and a 100% tax on ANY labor that is outsourced to foreign companies. To be fair, there should be an exemption to this law: If the company can prove that NO U.S. employee, company, or corporation that can provide these same services for a reasonably competitive sum, then they should be exempted from these taxes. To keep all this straight, I'd suggest setting up a new "mini-court" just to settle disputes by both companies and workers.

3) I would like to see the American tax laws changed so that corporations not consisting of at least 50% American citizens and workers would be forced to qualify as foreign companies, and then be subject to a higher income tax rate.

Harsh? Sure, but I'd point out that even the founding fathers of this country recognized the need to protect American industry and jobs, and declared that one of the main jobs of government is to collect tariffs on incoming foreign goods. Without jobs, the U.S. is doomed to collapse...a fact these companies don't care about. ANY group or business that assists in the collapse of the U.S. government should be branded an enemy of the nation, and then treated as such. I'm a capitalist, but NO capitalist company has the right to assist in the wholesale destruction of a society and a nation!
45 posted on 01/31/2003 3:26:21 PM PST by Arthalion
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