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I severely question your conclusion that offshore talent and H1-B visa workers lower your personal salary by a huge amount. It might be just pretty argument wh

I severely question your conclusion that offshore talent and H1-B visa workers lower your personal salary by a huge amount. It might be just pretty argument which is very useful for politicians and labor unions (or the like). Actually the opposite can be argued. If those workers get a lot less, the team's cost as a whole drops, making room for paying you raise. Except for external factors like management just taking the cost savings and put them somewhere else. But then again, these savings could have been taken out of your paycheck ...

droidist2 13y ago
People aren't paid based on what their companies can afford to pay them though, they're paid what the market will bear.
- bayesianhorse 13y ago
  I think there are a couple of factors at play. Labor markets especially for highly skilled jobs tend not to be exactly the best examples of "free market" and "perfect competition". There seems to be a lot going on... imperfect information, differentiation, "cartels" on both sides...
  - droidist2 13y ago
    Agreed, but wouldn't those factors also affect your scenario in which lower paid workers free up cash to raise salaries? I only meant to argue that the "what the market will bear" model is closer to reality than the scenario your presented, not that it is a perfect fit.
ilkhd2 13y ago
Yes, but the difference is transferred back to you when you are laid off because you are too expensive, you are not being hired because you are aqskink too much, and when hired you have to deal with lower wage.
dabent 13y ago
No. This is simply supply and demand. The more workers available for positions, especially ones who are willing to work for less impacts the supply and prices I can charge for my work go down. Management isn't going to give me a raise because they saved a buck on someone else. In fact, they're more likely to try and find a way to get rid of me and replace me with someone who charges less.

droidist2 13y ago

People aren't paid based on what their companies can afford to pay them though, they're paid what the market will bear.

bayesianhorse 13y ago
I think there are a couple of factors at play. Labor markets especially for highly skilled jobs tend not to be exactly the best examples of "free market" and "perfect competition". There seems to be a lot going on... imperfect information, differentiation, "cartels" on both sides...
- droidist2 13y ago
  Agreed, but wouldn't those factors also affect your scenario in which lower paid workers free up cash to raise salaries? I only meant to argue that the "what the market will bear" model is closer to reality than the scenario your presented, not that it is a perfect fit.

ilkhd2 13y ago

Yes, but the difference is transferred back to you when you are laid off because you are too expensive, you are not being hired because you are aqskink too much, and when hired you have to deal with lower wage.

dabent 13y ago

No. This is simply supply and demand. The more workers available for positions, especially ones who are willing to work for less impacts the supply and prices I can charge for my work go down. Management isn't going to give me a raise because they saved a buck on someone else. In fact, they're more likely to try and find a way to get rid of me and replace me with someone who charges less.