Re: Bill Gates and the H-1B Visa, Chapters 1 and 2

Tom Liotta wrote:

MS doesn't profit from hiring H-1Bs. Yes, they might get a wider talent pool. And, yes, they might execute hirings for lower salaries. And, yes, there are probably various elements that affect their bottom line during the time a H-1B holder works for them. But it still isn't quite "profit".

I usually stay out of this conversation, because in my opinion if you don't understand the horrific effects of America's H-1B policy then it's unlikely anything will convince you, but I find this statement to be so untrue that I have to respond.

Yes, MS profits. It profits hugely. It profits because it grossly lowers its expenses - remember, the definition of "profit" is revenue less expenses, and H-1B employment goes directly to the bottom line. It profits because it circumvents the normal laws of supply and demand, because by inflating the supply of workers it greatly diminishes the demand for existing workers, and thus their wages.

Remember, India has a population three times that of the US. China's is three times that. By using that pool to deflate costs, MS (and any other company that abuses the H-1B laws) is profiting by what they are not paying American workers. I'm going to stop here before I go rolling off on a rant about the insanity of our healthcare system and so on, but the truth of the matter is that Congress has made it all but mandatory that American workers get health care from their employers, and by consistently reducing those benefits, raising the cost, and lowering wages, H-1Bs are helping to destroy the American middle class.

And what is Congress trying to do? RAISE the number of workers from 65,000 per year to some 200,000. Do you actually think there are 200,000 jobs in the US that Americans can't do? No. There are 200,000 jobs that Microsoft and its ilk won't pay the prevailing American wage for, and would instead rather pay one-half or one-third that rate to someone from a much lower cost of living country.

Don't kid yourself. Microsoft profits from H-1B, in a big way. And because of that policy, tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars are not going to American citizens. Yet another reason I am trying to shed the Microsoft chains.

Bill and Melissa want to spend money? How about spending it to keep jobs in this country, and to rebuild the science and technology infrastructure in our educational system? They could do it almost overnight by saying they refuse to hire another H-1B and instead set up an accredited college-level program that will offer tuition deferment to every American student who wishes to pursue a career in IT (as long as the curriculum covered basic computer science it could be largely MS biased, nobody would complain). Graduates would then have to work at Microsoft for five years at H-1B wages to pay off their tuition.

What a concept.

Joe