Google's Eric Schmidt says H-1B visa changes would help economy

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

The executive chairman at Google urged Congress on Wednesday to increase the number of high-skilled work visas made available to foreigners and to deal with other immigration issues later on.

Eric Schmidt spoke Wednesday at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Schmidt said he believes the United States is better off having more immigrants, not fewer, but he particularly is focused on allowing more immigrants into the U.S. with specialized technical skills.

"In the long list of stupid policies of the U.S. government, I think our attitude toward immigration has got to be near the top," Schmidt said in answering a question about the biggest policy change he would like to see the federal government make.

... Schmidt said that increasing the number of H-1B visas, a program that's separate from the student visa program, would grow the economy because many immigrants will go on to start their own businesses and hire workers. He also said he believes a majority of lawmakers from both parties agree on this point, which is why they should deal with other aspects of immigration reform separately.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27739294/googles-eric-schmidt-says-h-1b-visa-changes

[msongs]

1. ya google will like anything that suppresses wages for its own industry. remember when google

was considered the wonderful upstart?

[juxtaposed]

2. the economy to google is google...

[Jerry442]

3. Here's how you fix H-1B

Since companies have to swear on their grandmother's graves that they'll spiral into bankruptcy if they don't get the exact person named on the H-1B application, take them at their word. Admit the applicant, give him or her permanent residency status, and charge the company a fee, say, roughly equal to six month's salary. The company is then free to hire the applicant, but so can anybody else.

Since the applicant is desperately needed by the company (as they swore in the H-1B application) to stave off their collapse, they won't mind offering him/her at a salary that will ensure he/she won't be poached, right?

[IronLionZion]

12. It's already like that

These workers are not highly specialized with skills that we don't have in the US. That's a myth these companies perpetuate.

It's about taking advantage of workers who culturally will put up with conditions that Americans won't tolerate. They mostly work for contracting/consulting type jobs (think of a temp agency) where they are sent to different clients that usually require relocating to a new city every few months. Typical Americans don't like that.

Yes, even companies like Google will send developers out to build software for other companies. The HQ back in California is much whiter than people think.

[Jerry442]

14. Quite right...

...and how many companies will want H-1B workers when they have to pay market rates commensurate with the working conditions -- and the workers can job-hop anytime they get a better offer?

[sybylla]

19. It's not already like that.

H1b visa holders can only work for the company that swears they need them. It's that company or they have to go through the visa applucation process all over again.

The suggestion that we charge the companies significant fees and give the visa holder more control over their circumstances is a good one.

[IronLionZion]

23. It's contracting firms vs their clients

so they might work for 1 contracting firm, but work for 10 different clients in 10 different states for just a few months or even weeks each. The clients value the use em lose em disposability of h1b workers.

in many cases the H1b worker really does get paid a higher salary than an equivalent American worker doing the exact same job in the exact same office, but the h1b is more easy to get rid of when you're done with them, like a temp.

[pnwmom]

30. Not true, whatever they swear. H1B visa holders have replaced workers in companies that did NOT need them.

These pre-existing workers have had to train their visa holder replacements, who were hired in order to increase profits for the company -- not because American workers weren't available. American workers were ready, willing, and already DOING THESE JOBS.


http://www.computerworld.com/article/2879083/southern-california-edison-it-workers-beyond-furious-over-h-1b-replacements.html

Information technology workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) are being laid off and replaced by workers from India. Some employees are training their H-1B visa holding replacements, and many have already lost their jobs.

The employees are upset and say they can't understand how H-1B guest workers can be used to replace them.

The IT organization's "transition effort" is expected to result in about 400 layoffs, with "another 100 or so employees leaving voluntarily," SCE said in a statement. The "transition," which began in August, will be completed by the end of March, the company said.

"They are bringing in people with a couple of years' experience to replace us and then we have to train them," said one longtime IT worker. "It's demoralizing and in a way I kind of felt betrayed by the company."

SNIP

[Jerry442]

31. Not anywise smart about immigration law but...

...a quick scan of Form I-129 which is connected to the H-1B program shows that signers affirm under penalty of perjury that they know, to the best of their ability, that everything in the form is correct.

Hmmmm....

[pnwmom]

32. The giant loophole is that companies are free to fire their own tech workers

and replace them with contract employees. These contract employers are based in India and they are the ones affirming that the only workers they can find are . . . in India.

They are obviously lying if they say that there are no available workers in the US when their own workers are displacing Americans in those jobs.

[Strelnikov_]

34. A corporation breaking the law . . . and the G'Ment not following up . . .

Never . . .

[appalachiablue]

27. +10

[cstanleytech]

4. So let me get this straight, it will help things if they can bring in foreign workers more than it

would to hire american citizens?
*sniff* *sniff* Why do I smell BS?

[peacebird]

10. H1b's are hired for a fraction of what an american with same skill set would cost. And H1b's

Are replacing experienced americans. When american IT workers change jobs they are offered a lower salary because companies can point to the salary range offered in the area for that position, the salary range having been dramatically decreased by the influx of H1b workers....

[PSPS]

5. I think they meant, "would help Schmidt's economy"

[appalachiablue]

24. +1 Cuz he & his company really aren't doing well, could use some help-

Sounds good though, esp. to the uninformed or desperate. So the new company creators, H1-B visa staff will hire Americans, or other visa workers? How gullible does he think people are? This is more like 'trickle down' and the 'job creators'. Some tech jobs are also being eliminated due to AI I would think.

[Fearless]

6. For whom?

[pnwmom]

7. In the long list of stupid policies, passing out more H1b visas to keep salaries down in the

computer sector is one of the stupidest -- on the part of Democrats.

But it fits right in with the goals of conservatives and libertarians.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2879083/southern-california-edison-it-workers-beyond-furious-over-h-1b-replacements.html

Information technology workers at Southern California Edison (SCE) are being laid off and replaced by workers from India. Some employees are training their H-1B visa holding replacements, and many have already lost their jobs.

The employees are upset and say they can't understand how H-1B guest workers can be used to replace them.

The IT organization's "transition effort" is expected to result in about 400 layoffs, with "another 100 or so employees leaving voluntarily," SCE said in a statement. The "transition," which began in August, will be completed by the end of March, the company said.

"They are bringing in people with a couple of years' experience to replace us and then we have to train them," said one longtime IT worker. "It's demoralizing and in a way I kind of felt betrayed by the company."

SNIP

[peacebird]

11. ^^^this!^^^

[appalachiablue]

29. Thanks, I've seen this here before; hope it continues in order to spread the facts, the reality.

Commodity people; like how Personnel Depts. were changed to the impersonal "Human RESOURCES".

[jtuck004]

8. Makes me wonder what a Democrat would do. n/t

[djean111]

9. Let me fix that for you - "Makes me wonder what a New Democrat would do."

Increase the visas, of course. With a big smile. Knowing that the education required here in the US for this sort of thing is just a giant lifelong load of debt. And that the IT people being displaced will get lower paying jobs, if they are lucky, and then the unemployment rates will be crowed about. Sickening spiral.

[Geronimoe]

13. What woulld truly help economy is.....

If Google would pay some tax instead of using all kinds of tricks to avoid paying a fair tax like most Americans. What dp to they pay? About 2 or 3 percent on tens of billions of dollars in revenues?

And how about the energy industry and WalMart end being wellfare queens with their federal subsidies.

[appalachiablue]

25. +1

[Sunlei]

15. change the 'student' visa so 'students' can not work and that would open thousands of jobs.

Another change for the H-1B visas. Foreigners pay a fee, sometimes thousands to land a 'skilled H-1B visa' job in the USA.

Make it so recruiters and companies can NOT charge a fee for a H-1B visa job.

Even the unskilled labor visas many times have a fee, this is exploited sometimes as a way to get in the country.

Our Federal minimum wage is tied into these foreign workers, they have to be paid the minimum. This is why Congress WILL NOT RAISE the Federal minimum for Americans. It's not right to push aside your own citizens best interests for cheap workers.

[groundloop]

16. There's definitely a shortage of engineers ........ (who are willing to work for peanuts)

These damned companies complain all the time about the government interfering with the 'free market', yet they want the government to intervene in this, which I see as another 'free market' issue. It's the law of supply and demand at its most basic - there's a shortage of talented students willing to put in the grueling college work to become an engineer, so the 'price' for engineering talent needs to go up.

[antigop]

17. Hillary Clinton reaffirms support for more H-1B visas

[pnwmom]

33. This video is from 8 years ago -- before the recession. Please provide information

on her current policies.

[sendero]

18. Shit like this..

.... has been "helping" the economy right into a semi-permanent ditch. No thanks lying talking your book asshole.

[Geronimoe]

20. What would really help

Is to pay us directly for corporate advertisers using our bandwidth instead of paying Google to spy on us and target us with ads we don't want. And unlike Google, we actually pay US taxes.

[Yavin4]

21. Incorrect headline

should read: "Google's Eric Schmidt says H-1B visa changes would help his economy"

There. I fixed it.

[Retrograde]

22. So would hiring and maintaining employees over the age of 40

Even though by that age many of them no longer think that working at a "cool place" for all of their waking hours is a substitute for a life with outside human interactions.

[upaloopa]

26. Why not help young Americans start businesses

and hire people?

[nilram]

28. It would help Eric Schmidt's economy.