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Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
The "CompeteAmerica" and "National Foundation for American Policy" lobby groups reference by Qualcomm are perfect examples of this same practice. Both use faulty logic and unsubstantited data to twist the story away from corporate profits and towards something that sounds like it's good for America. Dissecting some of their statements would be worthy of discussion.— March 27, 2011 10:44 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
It's totally preposterous to suggest that jobs are CREATED by outsourcing. Unless of course one considers someone who was making a good living supporting a family of four, who is laid off, and then is forced to take two minimum wage jobs in order to meet basic subsistence levels. That's the sort of job "creation" that I can see happening from outsourcing.— March 27, 2011 10:33 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
Unfortunately it's just a cameo appearance.— March 25, 2011 11:31 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
The Dan Rather investigation into Visa scams is up and posted on Donna Conroy's Bright Future Jobs website. It mentions the blatant InfoSys Visa Fraud case which was widely reported in India, but surprisingly received almost no coverage in the mainstream US media. Until now... (. http://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/8711/p/dia/actio… .)— March 25, 2011 11:13 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
Yes it's the same old "trickle down" theory. One could argue that tax cuts for the rich are the least likely to trickle down because they just get socked away in investments, while the middle class is much more inclined to spend their money (maybe too inclined). Incidentally, the tax cuts proposed by the GOP that target schools and other good public programs such as PBS and NPR are about the same size as the revenue that would have been raised by eliminating the tax cuts for the rich. Then there is the whole capital gains issue. Most people who are wealthy rely on capital gains for their livelihood rather than collecting a pay check from a company. But capital gains taxes are limited to 15% vs. the typical 30%+ that middle Americans have no choice but to pay. One last thing, some of the best investigative journalism that is left in the US can be found on PBS. Outstanding shows such as Nova and Frontline. Since when did fine investigative journalism such as this become labeled "liberal propaganda"?— March 24, 2011 4:25 p.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
Dobbs has researched the issue well and covers many of the key problems. Here is another good Dobbs piece that has an interview with Dr. Matloff. (. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Dr8nEVTvQ&NR=1 .) It also touches on what Qcomgeek was talking about regarding Americans not "competing" for research grant money. According to the article post-doc researchers are paid less than people with BS degrees ($35K-$40K per year). I like the way he rips Bill Gates and also points out that Satyam was the 8th largest consumer of H-1Bs was one of the biggest rip-offs in Indian corporate history).— March 24, 2011 3:31 p.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
In 2007 I remember discussing this whole service economy nonsense with a good friend of mine. He is also an engineer and we were both seeing the impacts of off-shoring, not just the loss of jobs but the fierce (and permanent!) competition that it's creating in overseas countries, particularly in Asia. He made the comment that still rings true, "If someone wanted to cripple the United States they couldn't have found a better way than the current situation that has led us to outsourcing". Neither of us could understand at the time why the Dow was at 13,000 and the Real Estate market was booming. I remember reading in the newspaper at the time that 50% of the job growth in California from 2001 to 2007 was due to the Real Estate market (realtors, brokers, construction, etc.). Neither of us could see how any of this was sustainable. I had some money that I needed to invest at the time and knew that it was a mistake to put it into Real Estate or stocks. After thinking about it for awhile I decided to put it into Gold despite the fact that I had never purchased Gold as an investment before. I still have it today and it's doubled in value since then...— March 24, 2011 1:39 p.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
I agree with you, but Wall Street views us not as professionals, but as "skilled labor" or worse yet as, "privileged elites" that are in need of some serious wage compression via immigration. I've already posted the comments and videos of Greenspan where he says this. Greenspan was a tool of Wall Street and I think that his comments are shared by others in Wall Street, especially tech CEOs. It's interesting to try and define the difference between "professional workers" and "skilled labor". I think that the only difference is that one (skilled labor) works for the CEOs of large tech companies and they begrudge both the salaries and the term professional.— March 24, 2011 12:08 p.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
I don't watch a lot of Lou Dobbs, but he is dead-on about the H-1B scam. This is another good video: (. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TJBkO3PM14&NR=1 .)— March 24, 2011 11:57 a.m.
Are American Engineers in Short Supply?
Hard to believe it, but yes that is the whole Wall Street/GOP argument behind increasing immigration for skilled labor. Their argument essentially is "Innovation through Immigration". It's one of the most stupid claims that I have yet seen, but it's a good example of spin. Large tech companies want lower wages, outsourcing and insourcing are the tools to accomplish this, but they can't come out and say it so they have to couch it into terms that sound like it's good for the country. A few years ago they were trying to make the claim that every immigrant created something like 5 jobs in the US. I don't think anyone bought it then, so now they are claiming that it drives innovation. If we really wanted to drive innovation we would break up these tech monopolies. "Innovation through Start-Ups" makes a whole lot more sense.— March 24, 2011 11:54 a.m.