GREAT piece on "socialism"

[proud2BlibKansan]

Socialism, Kansas City style

George Harris KC Star Reader Advisory Panel 2008

Hardly a day has gone by in the last several months without an alarm being sounded that the the election could transform the nation into a socialist state...or without one more example that it has already been so transformed.

We don’t need to look beyond our own city limits to see proof of a transformation created by capitalists who likely would claim to fear a philosophy of “sharing the wealth.”

At Arrowhead Stadium yesterday, I saw the multi-million dollar renovation project being paid for by taxpayers for the primary benefit of a wealthy, privately owned business.

On the way to the stadium, I drove by the site of the proposed stadium for the Kansas City Wizards, another private business, albeit not so wealthy as the Chiefs.

On Thanksgiving night, I drove by the construction of the West End hotel project, supported by tax increment financing, an economic development tool designed to improve blighted areas but turned upside down to support projects in several tony parts of town.

Last Tuesday I drove through downtown and saw the gleaming H&R Block building and the Power and Light District, both of which were funded by TIF programs.

more . . . http://voices.kansascity.com/node/2944

[ananda]

1. Nasty

It's nasty the way money is funneled from
taxpayer dollars into the hands of the elite
kleptocrats.

[LiberalEsto]

2. And in return, they outsource jobs

to other countries, and import cheap foreign tech workers with H1-B visas.

I want a law that says any company that accepts any form of public tax dollars is prohibited from outsourcing and insourcing non-American citizens as employees.

[treestar]

3. H-1bs are legal

It's an entirely legal process to bring them here.

It's the outsourcing that is the problem - and the outsourcing is how they dealt with not being able to bring as many legal H-1bs.

[LiberalEsto]

4. Legal, but in my opinion, immoral

My husband works in the IT industry. We know a huge number of people who've been laid off and replaced by H1-B workers (who are supposed to be paid the same, but the companies finagle the job descriptions and get away with paying them much less) over the years. He worked at Fannie Mae for 17 years, and they've gotten rid of almost all the American IT people and replaced them with H1-Bs.

Meanwhile the people who've been laid off are unable to find IT work. Many of these people borrowed heavily to put themselves through college, majoring in computer science. They end up, like my brother-in-law, stocking shelves at department stores or other poorly paying jobs.

Almost nobody going to college in recent years majors in computer science. There's no point putting yourself in hock with tens of thousands in student loans, and being unable to pay them back because the companies are only hiring cheap foreign IT workers.

How is it fair to give these big companies all kinds of tax breaks using OUR tax money, and then let them turn around and spit in our faces by bringing in cheap foreign workers and leaving American IT professionals struggling to find jobs that pay the bills?

I would love to do away with H1-B visas entirely, but failing that, any company that replaces American workers with foreign workers should be prohibited from benefiting off the labor of American workers' tax dollars.

[treestar]

6. There is a limit of 65,000 per year

So this lay off can only happen to 65,000 Americans per year. But it is not so, as they have to pay H-1Bs as much as they are paying Americans. If they are not, report them to the Dept. of Labor.

IT workers are in short supply in the U.S. Like R.N.s. They will outsource to India if we don't let them have their H-1bs. At least then, the Indians are here, rather than in India spending their earnings.

And H-1bs apply to many other workers than IT workers, so they aren't all IT workers.

I have trouble feeling bad for IT workers because there are enough jobs for them. Whatever problems they have, the H-1bs are not to blame.

[LiberalEsto]

8. I don't think you know anything about the IT industry

My husband has worked in the IT industry since 1980. Among the places he has worked are Computer Sciences Corporation, Panasonic, Fannie Mae, Goldman Sachs and Prudential. Lots of his friends and former classmates were in the field, although most of them have been laid off and forced to seek other careers. His brother worked in IT for about 15 years, has been downsized several times, and is now struggling to make ends meet as a stock clerk.

As I clearly stated in my previous post, companies use all sorts of tricks to get around paying H1-Bs the same salaries they paid to the previous holders of those jobs. One of the tricks I know about personally is that they slightly change the job description and claim it's an entirely different job. It is absolutely true that companies manipulate the H1-B laws to import cheap labor.

They also force these workers to put in ridiculous amounts of overtime (which I know about personally through my husband). The workers don't dare complain or they get sent back and replaced. These companies save money by hiring 3 foreign workers to do the jobs of 5.

Companies also advertise for American IT workers, but these ads are fakes. People who call up are told the position is filled. Then the company has an excuse to go hire a foreigner. There are PLENTY of out-of-work IT workers, like my brother-in-law, who would love to get hired, but can't. Why? Because they expect to be paid enough to pay the mortgage and buy food and also have health coverage. By hiring these foreign workers as "consultants," US companies get away with not providing health insurance and other benefits.

A 2007 article in The American Prospect states:
'The U.S. Department of Labor's 2006 Strategic Plan puts it bluntly, "H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker."'

And "Another canard from the industry lobbyists is that the H-1B program prevents outsourcing. Instead, the facts clearly show is speeding up the outsourcing of jobs. Seven of the top ten H-1B employers are offshore outsourcing firms -- firms that hire almost no Americans. Those seven firms gobbled up nearly 20,000 visas in 2006 alone. And each of those 20,000 positions is used to lever four to five more workers overseas."

Link: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=how_guestworkers_promote_outsourcing

I can't blame the H1-Bs themselves. I blame the greedy corporations that hire them and whine to Congress that they need more and more of them to take away more American jobs.

At Fannie Mae, some of the H1-Bs are supplied by an Indian company called Tata Corp., which houses them cheaply in huge dormitories. This way the workers (who also got free college educations, unlike their out-of-work American counterparts) can live here cheaply and save money so that after 5 years they can go back to their countries and live very well. They are NOT spending a lot of their money in the U.S.

Older IT workers are NOT in short supply. We know lots of people who would love to get jobs in the IT field again. It is true that younger people don't bother majoring in computer science, as I stated earlier. Why? Because companies prefer to hire cheap foreign workers who don't get benefits, and who put in 60-hour weeks or longer because they're afraid to get sent home. But if younger IT workers are scarce, it is entirely the fault of the companies that downsized their parents, aunts and uncles and replaced them with H1-Bs.

It sounds to me like you are simply echoing the arguments of the corporations without knowing anything about the impact of this practice on real, living people. It's easy for you to say you don't care about American IT workers, but just wait until you or someone in your family is laid off and left with no opportunities to work in the career for which you educated yourself.

[treestar]

9. Objective information

My husband is not an IT worker, though my bro is and he's never been unemployed and has a great job now, very high paying, from the looks of his house and car. But I will go on real info rather than anecdotal info re random relatives.

Real info:

8 USC Section 1101(a)(15)(H)

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001101----000-.html

(15) The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens—

(H) an alien (i) <(a) Repealed. Pub. L. 106–95, § 2(c), Nov. 12, 1999, 113 Stat. 1316> (b) subject to section 1182 (j)(2) of this title, who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform services (other than services described in subclause (a) during the period in which such subclause applies and other than services described in subclause (ii)(a) or in subparagraph (O) or (P)) in a specialty occupation described in section 1184 (i)(1) of this title or as a fashion model, who meets the requirements for the occupation specified in section 1184 (i)(2) of this title or, in the case of a fashion model, is of distinguished merit and ability, and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor determines and certifies to the Attorney General that the intending employer has filed with the Secretary an application under section 1182 (n)(1) of this title, or (b1) who is entitled to enter the United States under and in pursuance of the provisions of an agreement listed in section 1184 (g)(8)(A) of this title, who is engaged in a specialty occupation described in section 1184 (i)(3) of this title, and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor determines and certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State that the intending employer has filed with the Secretary of Labor an attestation under section 1182 (t)(1) of this title, or (c) who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform services as a registered nurse, who meets the qualifications described in section 1182 (m)(1) of this title, and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor determines and certifies to the Attorney General that an unexpired attestation is on file and in effect under section 1182 (m)(2) of this title for the facility (as defined in section 1182 (m)(6) of this title) for which the alien will perform the services; or (ii)(a) having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or services, as defined by the Secretary of Labor in regulations and including agricultural labor defined in section 3121 (g) of title 26, agriculture as defined in section 203 (f) of title 29, and the pressing of apples for cider on a farm, of a temporary or seasonal nature, or (b) having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform other temporary service or labor if unemployed persons capable of performing such service or labor cannot be found in this country, but this clause shall not apply to graduates of medical schools coming to the United States to perform services as members of the medical profession; or (iii) having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is coming temporarily to the United States as a trainee, other than to receive graduate medical education or training, in a training program that is not designed primarily to provide productive employment; and the alien spouse and minor children of any such alien specified in this paragraph if accompanying him or following to join him;


8 CFR Section 214.2(h)

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi

Sec. 214.2 Special requirements for admission, extension, and
maintenance of status.

(h) Temporary employees--(1) Admission of temporary employees-

Specialty occupation means an occupation which requires theoretical
and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in
fields of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture,
engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine
and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology,
and the arts, and which requires the attainment of a bachelor's degree
or higher in a specific specialty, or its equivalent, as a minimum for
entry into the occupation in the United States.

(A) Standards for specialty occupation position. To qualify as a
specialty occupation, the position must meet one of the following
criteria:
(1) A baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally
the minimum requirement for entry into the particular position;
(2) The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel
positions among similar organizations or, in the alternative, an
employer may show that its particular position is so complex or unique
that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree;
(3) The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for
the position; or
(4) The nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex
that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with
the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree.

<[Page 301>]

(B) Petitioner requirements. The petitioner shall submit the
following with an H-1B petition involving a specialty occupation:
(1) A certification from the Secretary of Labor that the petitioner
has filed a labor condition application with the Secretary,
(2) A statement that it will comply with the terms of the labor
condition application for the duration of the alien's authorized period
of stay,
(3) Evidence that the alien qualifies to perform services in the
specialty occupation as described in paragraph (h)(4)(iii)(A) of this
section, and
(C) Beneficiary qualifications. To qualify to perform services in a
specialty occupation, the alien must meet one of the following criteria:
(1) Hold a United States baccalaureate or higher degree required by
the specialty occupation from an accredited college or university;
(2) Hold a foreign degree determined to be equivalent to a United
States baccalaureate or higher degree required by the specialty
occupation from an accredited college or university;
(3) Hold an unrestricted State license, registration or
certification which authorizes him or her to fully practice the
specialty occupation and be immediately engaged in that specialty in the
state of intended employment; or
(4) Have education, specialized training, and/or progressively
responsible experience that is equivalent to completion of a United
States baccalaureate or higher degree in the specialty occupation, and
have recognition of expertise in the specialty through progressively
responsible positions directly related to the specialty.


20 CFR 655.730
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi

(d) What attestations does the LCA contain? An employer's LCA shall
contain the labor condition statements referenced in Sec. Sec. 655.731
through 655.734, and Sec. 655.736 through 655.739 (if applicable),
which provide that no individual may be admitted or provided status as
an H-1B nonimmigrant in an occupational classification unless the
employer has filed with the Secretary an application stating that:
(1) The employer is offering and will offer during the period of
authorized employment to H-1B nonimmigrants no less than the greater of
the following wages (such offer to include benefits and eligibility for
benefits provided as compensation for services, which are to be offered
to the nonimmigrants on the same basis and in accordance with the same
criteria as the employer offers such benefits to U.S. workers):
(i) The actual wage paid to the employer's other employees at the
worksite with similar experience and qualifications for the specific
employment in question; or
(ii) The prevailing wage level for the occupational classification
in the area of intended employment;
(2) The employer will provide working conditions for such
nonimmigrants that will not adversely affect the working conditions of
workers similarly employed (including benefits in the nature of working
conditions, which are to be offered to the nonimmigrants on the same
basis and in accordance with the same criteria as the employer offers
such benefits to U.S. workers);
(3) There is not a strike or lockout in the course of a labor
dispute in the occupational classification at the place of employment;
(4) The employer has provided and will provide notice of the filing
of the labor condition application to:
(i)(A) The bargaining representative of the employer's employees in
the occupational classification in the area of intended employment for
which the H-1B nonimmigrants are sought, in the manner described in
Sec. 655.734(a)(1)(i); or
(B) If there is no such bargaining representative, affected workers
by providing electronic notice of the filing of the LCA or by posting
notice in conspicuous locations at the place(s) of employment, in the
manner described in Sec. 655.734(a)(1)(ii); and





That is all hard to read but is the real deal rather than the summarized opinions of H-1B haters. At least be honest. Americans cannot simply limit their own competition and try to drive up their wages that way. Capitalism simply does not work that way. We will never be able to up our value as employees by trying to shut other people out. If your husband didn't have H-1bs to blame, he'd be for increased licensing or limits on the universities or some other way to keep the allegedly hobbling competition out.

[LiberalEsto]

11. You can cite laws all you want

but the point is that the laws are NOT being followed. There is plenty of evidence for that. Particularly under the pro-corporate Bush Misadministration.

You might as well point out that there are laws against adultery and cite them chapter and verse. Laws don't stop adultery, as we all know. Neither do the laws you cite magically prevent abuses of the H1-B regulations.

The Bush Labor Department has a long track record of not enforcing existing labor laws, in favor of corporations.

As for "If your husband didn't have H-1bs to blame," my husband is currently well employed in the IT field, thank you. He tells me what he observes.

[olegramps]

10. Aren't you on the wrong board. Lou Dobbs has extensive material regarding the abuse of this program...

[Blue_Tires]

5. yeah, i saw the revamped power and light district

during the summer and was very impressed....i had not been to KC in five years...

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. It's beautiful but expensive

Hard to tell how long it will survive.

[Forkboy]

12. K, but no R.

It's too late. :(