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Re: [PLUG] Tech jobs and politics
On Monday, July 7, 2003, at 09:53 AM, Eugene Smiley wrote:
I know that there are a few people on this list like myself who are
looking for work. I wanted to throw the following article up for
discussion. I know I may risk offending someone on this list that has
an H1-B or similiar, but I'd like to know what people's thoughts are
on this subject.
While I think that our nation's open doors have helped create a great
cultural melting pot of ideas & customs, I think that it is detrimental
to give special preferences to importing cheap skilled labor when there
is already a surplus of skilled workers that are out of work right now.
If there are indeed jobs open, they should be filled by people who are
already here. My understanding of the H1-B is that it was intended to
provide relief to employers who cannot easily find people who are
already here to fill their open positions. This may have had some
merit in the years of milk & honey but today is a different day, with
different needs.
IMHO big business has too much influence on politicians, on both sides
of the aisle. When H1-B visas continue to go out in years of recession
& depression, and good jobs are being sent to the poorest countries for
what almost amounts to indentured servitude, it is clear that the
balance of power is shifted too far in favor of business. Just this
morning on NPR I was listening to a story about the national Do Not
Call List and how the direct marketing industry is up in arms over it.
I happen to work in this industry myself, but I disagree strongly with
the "first amendment" defense that the industry is citing.
Call me an idealist, but I thought that the Bill of Rights was a bill
of *human* rights. How can an artificial entity claim human rights?
It's insanity.
--
C. Magnus Hedemark
http://trilug.org/~chrish
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