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H1-Bs arent the issue, the employers bringing them in are the issue. The employers are fabricating employee shortages to get more H1-Bs, when the only real problem is that they dont want to pay Americans.
This is the identical argument that agriculture and construction use when they are recruiting Mexicans and Central Americans. Truth is, if you put a sign up saying "Watermelon picking, $20 an hour", Americans would be lined up for a mile to do it. I would flat out quit my job now to go do that. The real problem is that there is a shortage of Americans willing to pick vegetables for less then minimum wage, and in the unsanitary and abusive conditions farms expect them to work in.
You've just earned yourself a rep point for this post.
So many of our problems here in the United State stem from both legal and illegal immigration. I would be a totally rabid Republican if they would actually do something about the immigration problem, but just like the Dems, they talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. Meanwhile, our borders are as porous as ever, with over 11 million illegals currently stealing jobs from honest American citizens. Our unemployment problem would disappear overnight if those illegals were to be sent home tomorrow, and I refuse to entertain any crap how we'd starve from the crops not being picked in the fields - that's just silly talk. Wages would rise to meet the demand of Americans willing to work in the fields, and our economy would boom from all that money staying in this country, instead of flowing to Mexico, et al, like water down a bathtub drain.
Same thing with the HB visas - they should be banned totally so long as the UE rate stays above 5%, and even should it drop below that point, it should be restricted to the point that companies would have to be genuinely desperate to use people from abroad.
Thank goodness I do live in a state that shares my views on illegal immigration - that strict anti-illegal law they passed last year is having real, tangible, positive results in this state. Unemployment is going down, the economy is growing again, crime is down, less money is being spent on social services - hopefully this will spur other states to pass their own anti-illegals laws.
Last edited by NorthStarDelight; 04-23-2012 at 02:14 PM..
In Texas, apparently all they need to know is Spanish.
And I wish I were joking, but I'm not. These skilled professions get farmed out to illegal aliens.
That's another issue that really steams me in between the ears - this kow-towing towards all the Spanish-speakers in this country. When I lived in Florida prior to 2005, I heard so many complaints about people needing to know Spanish (in addition to English if they already know it) just to get a low-wage service job. And this was when the economy was still booming.
The United States is an English-speaking nation, and no one, I repeat, no one should ever, never, ever be required to know Spanish to get a job. I don't care if it's southern Texas, California or Dade County, Florida where English speakers are the minority - English is our language, and it's wrong and immoral to force us citizens to learn a whole another language just to earn a living. If Spanish speakers want to come and live here (legally, I should add), then they can learn to speak the same language as the rest of us - is that too much to ask?
Apparently some idjits out there do think that....
Argh, everyone cant go to your school, thats part of the point.
Someone made a great analogy on this board Id love to give credit to, but dont remember who said it.
Its like musical chairs.
You can either look at it two ways, either, the number of people stay the same, and the chairs just keep dissapearing (this would symbolize automation)
Or, you can look at it as more people getting added, and no more chairs being added (symbolizing the increasing number of college degreed people competing for a pool of jobs requiring those skills that is stagnant).
No matter what college you go to, how much training you get, or whatever ridiculous attribute you put on those having employment, EVERYONE cant have a chair. Chairs are not created as more people enter the game.
There are two articles today that illustrate this perfectly:
That's another issue that really steams me in between the ears - this kow-towing towards all the Spanish-speakers in this country. When I lived in Florida prior to 2005, I heard so many complaints about people needing to know Spanish (in addition to English if they already know it) just to get a low-wage service job. And this was when the economy was still booming.
I'm just starting to apply for a traditional job (I'm an independent contractor), and I am aghast at the number of positions that require me to know Spanish. I work in the legal field. But, to be fair, typically, these positions don't pay more than $10 an hour. Do I want to be a paralegal for that firm? I don't think so.
But really. If I hire someone to come out and clean my carpet, fix my air conditioner, or unclog the toilet, they have to be able to COMMUNICATE WITH ME. I've had soooo many people come out who didn't even know what I was trying to tell them.
so...when was the last time you sat at a switchboard for a company w/over 3,000 employees and 500 medical professionals and 32 incoming lines 24.7? Answering phones is a highly qualified position. Think about it the next time you hang up on an Operator.
Koale
I would not call it unskilled work, but it is not what I would consider skilled work.
My mother works in reservations for an airline-- it is pretty difficult work in terms of learning how to read and understand the small print on all different kinds of fare rules and programs for frequent fliers, but the fact remains is that with some training (and her company does this very well) most anyone who has decent computer skills (and my mom had very little when she got the job they actually had a class on using the mouse and their airline software) and who has high school education or some college could do the job as long as they can also handle the softer skills component such as knowing how to talk to the public, how to diffuse an irate customer, etc.
I have done that job myself-- and it is difficult in ways but I still don't consider it skilled work.
H1-Bs arent the issue, the employers bringing them in are the issue. The employers are fabricating employee shortages to get more H1-Bs, when the only real problem is that they dont want to pay Americans.
This is the identical argument that agriculture and construction use when they are recruiting Mexicans and Central Americans. Truth is, if you put a sign up saying "Watermelon picking, $20 an hour", Americans would be lined up for a mile to do it. I would flat out quit my job now to go do that. The real problem is that there is a shortage of Americans willing to pick vegetables for less then minimum wage, and in the unsanitary and abusive conditions farms expect them to work in.
Hey I am all for that! If the watermelon picker is getting paid 20.00 an hour I figure my job will probably pay me 75.00 or 80.00 an hour.
Of course we will have sky high inflation but it sounds like a plan!
That's another issue that really steams me in between the ears - this kow-towing towards all the Spanish-speakers in this country. When I lived in Florida prior to 2005, I heard so many complaints about people needing to know Spanish (in addition to English if they already know it) just to get a low-wage service job. And this was when the economy was still booming.
The United States is an English-speaking nation, and no one, I repeat, no one should ever, never, ever be required to know Spanish to get a job. I don't care if it's southern Texas, California or Dade County, Florida where English speakers are the minority - English is our language, and it's wrong and immoral to force us citizens to learn a whole another language just to earn a living. If Spanish speakers want to come and live here (legally, I should add), then they can learn to speak the same language as the rest of us - is that too much to ask?
Apparently some idjits out there do think that....
I hate to inform you but the USA never made English a national official language.
So... Spanish is equally a national language of this country as is English-- especially in certain parts of the country.
Thank goodness I do live in a state that shares my views on illegal immigration - that strict anti-illegal law they passed last year is having real, tangible, positive results in this state. Unemployment is going down, the economy is growing again, crime is down, less money is being spent on social services - hopefully this will spur other states to pass their own anti-illegals laws.
After Joe Arpaio vowed to fight illegal immigration in Arizona through strict enforcement measures, he received harsh criticism from the federal government and Eric "my people" Holder. It's almost as if the federal government is actively trying to destroy the once thriving middle class in this country. Is there something wrong with normal people having normal jobs that pay a normal middle class income? Even with all these illegals in this country, we cannot seem to improve out unbalanced trade, and now we have a floundering middle class that cannot even afford to purchase made in America goods. Our country is a hot mess. I love my country, but I hate how it has been desecrated by the very people who vowed to protect it.
Every major city saw a decline in the number of illegal immigrants coming in, except Chicago. It's so backwards here, and they are really keeping the cost of living high, as well as the taxes. All the illegals at the shops I've seen out here carry those darned food cards. Tell me we aren't subsidizing our illegal cheap labor... It's even sadder when you see young Americans desperate for work, and willing to do these jobs for next to nothing. My hat goes off to the ones that want to work, but this isn't right.
Before moving to Chicago, I had no idea how bad this problem really was. In Michigan, I never saw many illegals, but all the factories started closing their doors around 2004 and earlier. Now I know why. Places like Chicago, which has a much higher cost of living, has a surplus of cheap illegal labor. It's sickening. I like the people, and think most of them are good people, but you can really see how this was planned by design. The only one driving the nice cars at these Chicagoland factories are the owners, their family, and maybe the American foreman who happens to speak excellent Spanish. This past year has really taught me a lot about the direction our country is heading, and it's not good for most Americans it seems. No wonder wages have stagnated or even declines in many industries.
I read that one about college grad unemployment/underemployment this morning. Looks like we are right in line with Spain these days. I have been seeing this trend for a couple years now. Starbuck's batistas with college degrees, pizza delivery guys with college degrees, even a cab driver with a masters in IT. Just look at how many people line up for minimum wage McDonald's jobs. And those columnists that write articles about some sort of phantom recovery? They aren't fooling me, or anyone I know.
I'm so thankful I dropped out of college and went back to my trade. As bad as it has gotten, it's still plenty better than any other game in town these days. Since it requires quite a bit of math and practical aptitude, there is a high barrier to entry for many workers, and the negative light placed on manufacturing in this country has kept a lot of young people from pursuing it. It has never been easier for me to find a job, even though we have lost so many jobs over the past couple decades.
Don't know where we are heading, or where we will end up...
You've just earned yourself a rep point for this post.
So many of our problems here in the United State stem from both legal and illegal immigration. I would be a totally rabid Republican if they would actually do something about the immigration problem, but just like the Dems, they talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. Meanwhile, our borders are as porous as ever, with over 11 million illegals currently stealing jobs from honest American citizens. Our unemployment problem would disappear overnight if those illegals were to be sent home tomorrow, and I refuse to entertain any crap how we'd starve from the crops not being picked in the fields - that's just silly talk. Wages would rise to meet the demand of Americans willing to work in the fields, and our economy would boom from all that money staying in this country, instead of flowing to Mexico, et al, like water down a bathtub drain.
Same thing with the HB visas - they should be banned totally so long as the UE rate stays above 5%, and even should it drop below that point, it should be restricted to the point that companies would have to be genuinely desperate to use people from abroad.
Thank goodness I do live in a state that shares my views on illegal immigration - that strict anti-illegal law they passed last year is having real, tangible, positive results in this state. Unemployment is going down, the economy is growing again, crime is down, less money is being spent on social services - hopefully this will spur other states to pass their own anti-illegals laws.
It won't solve all our problems, but it would be a good first step in the right direction. The people who say "americans won't do those jobs, etc. etc." are just smokescreening truth and are probably employers paying under the table and breaking the laws. This would be a nightmare for them.
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Wages would rise to meet the demand of Americans willing to work in the fields, and our economy would boom from all that money staying in this country, instead of flowing to Mexico, et al, like water down a bathtub drain. 
