Bailout's 'hire American' provisions prove frustrating

[babylonsister]

Bailout's 'hire American' provisions prove frustrating

By Rob Hotakainen | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — At Duke University in North Carolina, where foreign nationals account for 60 percent of this year's master's class in engineering, Vivek Wadhwa is watching his students struggle to get jobs.

Some of them are getting employment offers withdrawn, while others are frustrated and ready to move back home. Wadhwa says it's the result of xenophobic messages coming out of Washington.

The culprit is a law passed by Congress in February. It forces banks that receive federal bailout money to hire American citizens over foreign guest workers.

Two months later, its reverberations are being felt across the country, particularly on college campuses.

The effect could be most acute in states such as California and New Jersey, national leaders in immigrant-founded engineering and technology businesses. In California, foreign nationals helped create more than half of the start-up companies in the Silicon Valley, according to a Duke University study. And in 2007, foreign nationals accounted for nearly two-thirds of all engineering doctorates awarded from the University of California and California State University, the study found.

Overall, the numbers are small: Only 65,000 of the visas are permitted each year, and another 20,000 are allowed as exemptions if the applicants have graduate degrees from American universities.

Immigration lawyers and educators warn that it could become much more difficult for universities to recruit foreign students, particularly if students fear there will be no jobs for them after they graduate.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/67248.html

[w4rma]

1. And more American students will take those places if job opportunities here become plentiful enough.

I'm a little tired of our universities creating more diplomas for foreign students rather than American students.

[BelgianMadCow]

3. "In California, foreign nationals helped create more than half of the start-up companies"

if you lose 60 % of your students and graduates, and they go elsewhere, that is a HUGE braindrain. Not smart imho.

I do understand nationalistic reflexes - in a sense, a return to buying local for example would be an improvement over global predatory disaster capitalism.

I would also argue that too much of the same reflex will impact workers elsewhere - and I tend to believe it is ONE struggle in which workers need to be more united, not less...

[w4rma]

6. One struggle where these visas are used to cause salaries to drop. DROP THE DAMN VISAS. (nt)

[BelgianMadCow]

8. about the whole VISA issue

I think I'm underinformed - I don't directly see the connection visa - wage depression. One shouldn't lead to the oher automatically, but probably it is the case.

Keeping OTHER PEOPLE's pay up to par and having a level playing field as far as workplace security, environmental constraints is THE challenge for unions imho.

If these people come and study in the US, and look for a job there, they SHOULD work under good conditions. If you keep them out, they will study anyway and the jobs can be relocated to wherever the cheap labor is.

We both detest the run to the bottom.

[OhioChick]

11. "I don't directly see the connection visa - wage depression."

You are under informed or misinformed.

Straight from "The Hindustan Times" :

H-1B visa holders are paid less than US counterparts

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=cda81c51-7247-4c2a-8e36-2414c5f9686c

[BelgianMadCow]

13. from that article " H-1B visa holders are "taken advantage of"

and wo does the advantage taking? Is that not where the action should be? Thanks for the link though.

I do understand how immigrants can depress wages - just don't think it automatically does so. I know it doesn't over here when it's about people that went through college.

Thanks for informing me that I'm underinformed, I as already informed of that.

[w4rma]

14. Immigrants don't, but visa workers do. (nt)

[BelgianMadCow]

16. Right shouldn't lump the two together.

Is it because the visa workers come in, work and get out again - thereby not living for long in the US, not needing equal wages since they just earn & go back? Trying to understand here. Possibly I don't grasp the sheer size of the issue - we have a lot of foreign students here as well, they either go back to their country or work here with pay like anyone else. There's not enough of them to be a force on their own at college level and above.

We don't really have people coming in for things like construction or factory jobs - but at the very moment, importing workers is being further legalized :-( and I see how that WILL drive down wages unless unions (strong here) and government are really watchful.

[OhioChick]

17. Corporate America (and Government) are the "advantage takers"

Let's just say that things are likely run much differently here than where you're at. The corruption here has been going on for years and years.

[ChromeFoundry]

18. the other side of that coin...

In California, US citizens helped create EVERY new start-up company...

hummm. Guess we are not all that useless over on this side of the pond, eh?

If we have 60% less students in our universities, supply vs. demand dictate the cost of a college degree will fall...thus, placing US universities on par with the rest of the world.

[Dappleganger]

2. Well boo fucking hoo

My American husband with graduate engineering DEGREES is having a hard time getting a job (and he has 20 years experience), so they have to deal with that fact. There are thousands of automotive engineers who are American who are w/out jobs now, too.

They should be sent home and they can find jobs there instead of taking them from qualified American graduates.

[BelgianMadCow]

4. good luck on isolationism! n/t

[Deja Q]

7. India has already engaged in protectionism for some time

Another DUer has posted that link several times...

And another:

http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-18595-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=63890&messageID=1185689

Someone has speculated what China might do...

See, my friend, isolationism can work both ways. Other countries might already be doing it -- but the moment the US mentions a word (which isn't the same thing as action), all the free trader-wannabes crap their pants and beg us to buy them new diapers.

What's wrong with fair trade? Too adult a concept for everybody to do? Apparently so.

[BelgianMadCow]

9. and not just them

just look at Germany, introducing a large premium for scrapping an old car, which has directly contributed to a BIG rise in GM daughter Opel's jump in sales. Pure protectionism.
I think in France, protectionism is ingrained - chauvinist. ;-)

I sure hope the "my friend" is sincere. I'll refrain answering the rest of the sentence until I know.

[Deja Q]

12. I may be naive, but I like to think I'm always sincere.

I'll admit when I'm wrong too.

We'll see what happens. I just hope a fair middle ground can be reached. :)

[BelgianMadCow]

15. Nah that's not naive :-) I just don't know you

and text is a poor form of communicating at times. I didn't want to ass u me to much; it would have been an ugly reading as well.

I am totally for the concept of fair trade. Such a pity it remains a fringe issue - we have fair trade shops in all big towns / cities, but still. Ultimately it depends on consumer behaviour.

[OhioChick]

10. India firing foreign workers to give jobs to locals

India firing foreign workers to give jobs to locals

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Jobs/Expatriate_executives_making_way_for_local_hires/articleshow/4039529.cms

Many other countries are taking care of their citizens, first. Something that the U.S. should be doing, as well.

[Deja Q]

5. So only foreign workers are allowed jobs now, is that it?

Others on the internet have speculated that other countries might take this knowledge and run. What happens if/when they don't need us anymore? More likely 'if' but 'when' shouldn't be ignored either. :(