View Full Version : Behind the scenes, business leaders press for immigration overhaul
A push for new voters by billionaire business moguls...
The high-wattage names involved go beyond Bloomberg and Zuckerberg. Partnership for a New American Economy, led by Bloomberg, also includes Steve Ballmer of Microsoft, Rupert Murdoch of News Corp., and Bill Marriott of Marriott hotels. Zuckerberg’s group, FWD.us., includes Napster co-founder Sean Parker and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/10/07/204524/behind-the-scenes-business-leaders.html#storylink=cpy
Democrats want the voters - big business wants the cheap workers.
To Washington Politicians it's a win win.
FlagDayNCO
10-08-2013, 11:04
Big business doesn't mean they want cheap workers. This is a bargaining chip.
Big business supports this immigration, in exchange for consideration for something else down the road. Where I am sitting, they are against more immigrants, but they'll toe the party line so they get consideration for what they're looking for.
The idea that Republicans support big business is a sham when the people must consider how many big businesses are run by Democrats.
Poison pills of a different color.
FlagDayNCO I'm with you on the sides these guys are on. Win win for them. If big business wanted this J. W. MARRIOTT would have been busted with illegals wiring for them, then paying off the Government.
If big business wanted reform then could be don't it now. How many of you have every been to a national park, ski resort, beaches were the lifeguards are all Eastern bloc? Ski Resorts and national Parks with many foreign nationals working for these companies under many different visas.
BLUF - If big businesses want cheap labor it is here in the form of Americans and the examples I've given. These cats have another agenda under their crooked sleeves. Most big companies have twin plants in foriegn countries and "make" the products in the USA. NAFTA did this.
Paragrouper
10-08-2013, 18:56
Big business supports this immigration, in exchange for consideration for something else down the road. Where I am sitting, they are against more immigrants, but they'll toe the party line so they get consideration for what they're looking for.
Look for any changes to immigration laws that ease restrictions on immigrants that are coming for highly skilled tech jobs. You'll find a long history of businesses lobbying for those particular changes.
Look for any changes to immigration laws that ease restrictions on immigrants that are coming for highly skilled tech jobs. You'll find a long history of businesses lobbying for those particular changes.
That has been happening for years now. Bill Gates was one of the biggest screamers lobbying Washington for H1-B and L-1 visas - for those very same hi-tech jobs. His squawk was that "There were not enough highly skilled Americans for the jobs."
Equine excrement! There were many engineers, programmers, etc. laid off because they were making in the $50K - $75K annual salary range. (Those same engineers and programmers then had to usually settle for a job at places like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot or Lowes - especially if they were older individuals who may have had 20 or more years of experience. Hell, one decent engineering manager I knew wound up as a furniture salesman in Atlanta, working with his brother-in-law because, as a manager, he had "been away" from actual engineering for too long and no one would hire him.)
No these scumbags want to get rid of their high-paid American employees and bring in slave labor to work for half the price. If they are H1-Bs, they are almost the equivalent of indentured servants. If they are L-1s, they are essentially "contractors" hired out by foreign firms to the U.S. firms. But since they are not actual employees of the American firms, the American employers don't have to pay the high payroll taxes for them, nor do they have to provide expensive "perks" like healthcare, vacation and/or sick time, etc.
This crap started happening almost 20 years ago and has gotten steadily worse since then. I could get up on my soapbox about this even more; but I think you get the idea. :mad::mad:
Paragrouper
10-08-2013, 21:09
"...Equine excrement!..."
Yep.
8 congress critters arrested (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/eight-members-of-congress-arrested-in-push-for-immigration-reform/) (ABC link)
Maybe it's because I'm not in the best of moods this morning, but these people need to get the F*** back to work. I wish I had time to fart around breaking laws for the proponence of other law breakers (illegals). Where do these critters get off defending imaginary rights for ILLEGAL immigrants? Simple stupid- kick 'em out and be done with it. I have a plan to keep them out once deported, but it would involve Vlad the impaler style tactics that would be frowned upon by most.
Lobbyists for Restaurant Chains Grease Wheels for Immigration Bill
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/11/03/Fast-Food-Chains-Grease-Wheels-For-Immigration-Bill
"Fast food chains and other big restaurant lobbyists are turning their attention to efforts to try to grant amnesty to the 11 million illegal aliens in the country, Breitbart News has learned........"
Hmm, wasn't there something about exempting new immigrants from Obamacare for a couple of years?
Immigration reform is a bad idea for low level American workers.
frostfire
11-08-2013, 20:43
Big Business is for whatever will benefit Big Business, generally-speaking.
I've been contemplating this for over a decade since outsourcing of engineering jobs got more rampant: Is capitalism compatible with patriotism?
If you're selling your house and a chinese tourist offers 100k+ in cash vs. a fellow American who uses mortage, which do you pick? What if the tourist uses a local American face as broker?
Where to draw the line...
FWIW, source is here (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301697_pf.html).How to Keep America Competitive
By Bill Gates
Sunday, February 25, 2007
For centuries people assumed that economic growth resulted from the interplay between capital and labor. Today we know that these elements are outweighed by a single critical factor: innovation.
Innovation is the source of U.S. economic leadership and the foundation for our competitiveness in the global economy. Government investment in research, strong intellectual property laws and efficient capital markets are among the reasons that America has for decades been best at transforming new ideas into successful businesses.
The most important factor is our workforce. Scientists and engineers trained in U.S. universities -- the world's best -- have pioneered key technologies such as the microprocessor, creating industries and generating millions of high-paying jobs.
But our status as the world's center for new ideas cannot be taken for granted. Other governments are waking up to the vital role innovation plays in competitiveness.
This is not to say that the growing economic importance of countries such as China and India is bad. On the contrary, the world benefits as more people acquire the skills needed to foster innovation. But if we are to remain competitive, we need a workforce that consists of the world's brightest minds.
Two steps are critical. First, we must demand strong schools so that young Americans enter the workforce with the math, science and problem-solving skills they need to succeed in the knowledge economy. We must also make it easier for foreign-born scientists and engineers to work for U.S. companies.
Education has always been the gateway to a better life in this country, and our primary and secondary schools were long considered the world's best. But on an international math test in 2003, U.S. high school students ranked 24th out of 29 industrialized nations surveyed.
Our schools can do better. Last year, I visited High Tech High in San Diego; it's an amazing school where educators have augmented traditional teaching methods with a rigorous, project-centered curriculum. Students there know they're expected to go on to college. This combination is working: 100 percent of High Tech High graduates are accepted into college, and 29 percent major in math or science. Contrast that with the national average of 17 percent.
To remain competitive in the global economy, we must build on the success of such schools and commit to an ambitious national agenda for education. Government and businesses can both play a role. Companies must advocate for strong education policies and work with schools to foster interest in science and mathematics and to provide an education that is relevant to the needs of business. Government must work with educators to reform schools and improve educational excellence.
American competitiveness also requires immigration reforms that reflect the importance of highly skilled foreign-born employees. Demand for specialized technical skills has long exceeded the supply of native-born workers with advanced degrees, and scientists and engineers from other countries fill this gap.
This issue has reached a crisis point. Computer science employment is growing by nearly 100,000 jobs annually. But at the same time studies show that there is a dramatic decline in the number of students graduating with computer science degrees.
The United States provides 65,000 temporary H-1B visas each year to make up this shortfall -- not nearly enough to fill open technical positions.
Permanent residency regulations compound this problem. Temporary employees wait five years or longer for a green card. During that time they can't change jobs, which limits their opportunities to contribute to their employer's success and overall economic growth.
Last year, reform on this issue stalled as Congress struggled to address border security and undocumented immigration. As lawmakers grapple with those important issues once again, I urge them to support changes to the H-1B visa program that allow American businesses to hire foreign-born scientists and engineers when they can't find the homegrown talent they need. This program has strong wage protections for U.S. workers: Like other companies, Microsoft pays H-1B and U.S. employees the same high levels -- levels that exceed the government's prevailing wage.
Reforming the green card program to make it easier to retain highly skilled professionals is also necessary. These employees are vital to U.S. competitiveness, and we should welcome their contribution to U.S. economic growth.
We should also encourage foreign students to stay here after they graduate. Half of this country's doctoral candidates in computer science come from abroad. It's not in our national interest to educate them here but send them home when they've completed their studies.
During the past 30 years, U.S. innovation has been the catalyst for the digital information revolution. If the United States is to remain a global economic leader, we must foster an environment that enables a new generation to dream up innovations, regardless of where they were born. Talent in this country is not the problem -- the issue is political will.
The writer is chairman of Microsoft Corp. and co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His wife is a director of The Washington Post Co.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisics growth projections for "Computer systems design and related services" through 2020 are available here. (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t03.htm)
Team Sergeant
11-13-2013, 09:52
Behind the scenes, business leaders press for immigration overhaul
Of course they do, who else can they pay minimum wage to and call whatever they are producing "made in America"?
Besides, big business is not an internet website, big business is Walmart....
Don't believe me, turn off the computer for a month, google, facebook, amazon, youtube etc will die, Walmart will thrive.
GratefulCitizen
11-14-2013, 09:26
WRT immigration in STEM fields, employers are hitting the limit on the number of brains they can capture.
The education system isn't so much about training people with the skills in STEM fields as it is about identifying talent*...and the willingness to be captured.
Often, those employees are bright enough to realize their worth and demand appropriate compensation (refusing to be captured).
Immigrant workers have fewer options at the negotiating table, and are more subject to "capture".
*
Intelligence tests are illegal in private sector hiring practices.
STEM degrees are just a substitute for those tests.
http://www.statisticbrain.com/iq-estimates-by-intended-college-major/
H1-Bs are a complex issue. Merck laid off 5K white collar workers and then lobbied for more H1-Bs, claiming they couldn't find enough people with the skill sets of the people they just fired. Pure and utter bullshit.
But...have you experienced the work ethic, grandiose expectations, and self-entitlement of the special snowflakes they call "Millennials?" All of this self-esteem BS they've been fed make them brittle as glass. Give an objective performance review and for many it's the first constructive criticism they've ever received. "But...but...where's my trophy for showing up?"
H1-Bs are attractive for reasons other than money.