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I don't understand why the Professional class struggles with this simple concept so much. Just look at the angst on HN about H1B IT workers undercutting US IT w

I don't understand why the Professional class struggles with this simple concept so much. Just look at the angst on HN about H1B IT workers undercutting US IT workers (and those are legal!). I would imagine this group's priorities would dramatically change if boatloads of Eastern European software engineers were arriving illegally in Silicon Valley and accepting salaries at half of their own. Then try to be concerned with lofty concepts such as "inclusiveness!" "stronger together!" "immigration!" when you're out of work due to ongoing violations of the law that half the country seems perfectly okay with. And on top of that, they call you racist for pointing it out!

shuntress 10y ago
If someone walked in to my office, pointed at me and said "I'll do that guys job for half the price" I would wonder two things: 1) Can he do this job as well as I can? 2) If he can, why would he accept half of what I am under-payed?
- shady-lady 10y ago
  because 1) Subjective answer either way. and 2) because he (potentially) gets to have a better quality of life than he currently has, with more opportunities to boot.
  - shuntress 10y ago
    Sure, it isn't as easily measurable as stamping holes in license plates. But it is not impossible to evaluate performance. It may take some time to evaluate, but I honestly feel my manager is good enough at his job to evaluate his worker's performance. So, maybe initially, he pulls himself out of destitution with the job he 'stole' from me. Now he is just forever grateful that he doesn't have it much worse so he never wants more? If the company gets a company man who does the job, never complains, and never asks for a raise, why would they ever hire me? The american who wants more money for the same job.
eli_gottlieb 10y ago
As a socialist, I also don't understand why the professional caste has a hard time with this. "Free" exploitation by the sleaziest employers in the country, facilitated by commercial trafficking in humans, is not the internationalist dream any prospective uniter of mankind has proposed.

shuntress 10y ago

If someone walked in to my office, pointed at me and said "I'll do that guys job for half the price" I would wonder two things: 1) Can he do this job as well as I can? 2) If he can, why would he accept half of what I am under-payed?

shady-lady 10y ago
because 1) Subjective answer either way. and 2) because he (potentially) gets to have a better quality of life than he currently has, with more opportunities to boot.
- shuntress 10y ago
  Sure, it isn't as easily measurable as stamping holes in license plates. But it is not impossible to evaluate performance. It may take some time to evaluate, but I honestly feel my manager is good enough at his job to evaluate his worker's performance. So, maybe initially, he pulls himself out of destitution with the job he 'stole' from me. Now he is just forever grateful that he doesn't have it much worse so he never wants more? If the company gets a company man who does the job, never complains, and never asks for a raise, why would they ever hire me? The american who wants more money for the same job.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago

As a socialist, I also don't understand why the professional caste has a hard time with this. "Free" exploitation by the sleaziest employers in the country, facilitated by commercial trafficking in humans, is not the internationalist dream any prospective uniter of mankind has proposed.