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Why did the author have to hire someone abroad to come in? We have so much talent sitting right here in the US. For example, I live in a small town with 3 high

Why did the author have to hire someone abroad to come in? We have so much talent sitting right here in the US. For example, I live in a small town with 3 high end customer service call centers that I know about (there's probably more I don't), and the rates they pay are well below national average because the cost of living is low here. In my area one could build a team of world-class customer service reps in a matter of weeks, pay them better than any place in the area, and have an experienced and high quality staff immediately available when more staff are needed. Of course I'm not knocking Santiago; having the ability and the qualities necessary to build a quality customer service team is extremely valuable no matter where you are.

fennecfoxen 12y ago
Because he already knew a guy, and he knew the guy was good, and he wanted to work with that guy. And "why did he have to hire someone from abroad" is a question that makes no more sense than "why should he have to hire someone local?"
- jeffsco 12y ago
  The title says a team, suggesting that you can't build any team at all in US. But the evidence presented shows that he couldn't build a specific team: there exists a team he couldn't build in US.
  - fennecfoxen 12y ago
    This nitpicking is 100% accurate, but its relevance to the underlying immigration and employment policies involved is far more limited.
icambron 12y ago
> Why did the author have to hire someone abroad to come in? We have so much talent sitting right here in the US. Have to is the wrong way to look at it. He hired this person because he thought he would be the best at the job. Why should he have to prefer the talent in the US?
- bitJericho 12y ago
  I guess I'm of the opinion that for some things, surely not everything, but for some things, there's more than one person in the world that can do the job. The freedom lover inside me gets your point though.
  - icambron 12y ago
    You may be right, and further he may have even been able to find far better people in the US, or maybe in, say, Ghana. But that's just us criticizing the degree to which he optimized his hiring, not a principled complaint about the citizenship of the person he ended up with. What I'm after is that I don't think he has some special moral or ethical responsibility to consider the candidate's nationality in making hiring decisions. (He may, in applying for certain visas, have such a legal responsibility, but then I think that's poor immigration policy on our part.) I feel for your town and I hope everyone there gets a good job; I just don't think "but we're American!" is the advantage that should get them there.
    - bitJericho 12y ago
      In my area, we have some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. We're also some of the hardest working according to statistics taken all over the country. I can guarantee you a call center here is every bit as good as anywhere else in the world. I'd say if you're American and hiring Columbians to do a job we could do for the same price, you're acting not in the interests of your own country. Seems very strange to me not to support your own countrymen. One day the shoe may be on the other foot.
      - insuffi 12y ago
        It seems strange to you that people are moving beyond silly patriotism/nationalism? Hardest doesn't equal most productive. Furthermore, there were less obstacles to him hiring Columbians. I don't see what the problem is here.
        12y ago

fennecfoxen 12y ago

Because he already knew a guy, and he knew the guy was good, and he wanted to work with that guy. And "why did he have to hire someone from abroad" is a question that makes no more sense than "why should he have to hire someone local?"

jeffsco 12y ago
The title says a team, suggesting that you can't build any team at all in US. But the evidence presented shows that he couldn't build a specific team: there exists a team he couldn't build in US.
- fennecfoxen 12y ago
  This nitpicking is 100% accurate, but its relevance to the underlying immigration and employment policies involved is far more limited.

icambron 12y ago

> Why did the author have to hire someone abroad to come in? We have so much talent sitting right here in the US. Have to is the wrong way to look at it. He hired this person because he thought he would be the best at the job. Why should he have to prefer the talent in the US?

bitJericho 12y ago
I guess I'm of the opinion that for some things, surely not everything, but for some things, there's more than one person in the world that can do the job. The freedom lover inside me gets your point though.
- icambron 12y ago
  You may be right, and further he may have even been able to find far better people in the US, or maybe in, say, Ghana. But that's just us criticizing the degree to which he optimized his hiring, not a principled complaint about the citizenship of the person he ended up with. What I'm after is that I don't think he has some special moral or ethical responsibility to consider the candidate's nationality in making hiring decisions. (He may, in applying for certain visas, have such a legal responsibility, but then I think that's poor immigration policy on our part.) I feel for your town and I hope everyone there gets a good job; I just don't think "but we're American!" is the advantage that should get them there.
  - bitJericho 12y ago
    In my area, we have some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. We're also some of the hardest working according to statistics taken all over the country. I can guarantee you a call center here is every bit as good as anywhere else in the world. I'd say if you're American and hiring Columbians to do a job we could do for the same price, you're acting not in the interests of your own country. Seems very strange to me not to support your own countrymen. One day the shoe may be on the other foot.
    - insuffi 12y ago
      It seems strange to you that people are moving beyond silly patriotism/nationalism? Hardest doesn't equal most productive. Furthermore, there were less obstacles to him hiring Columbians. I don't see what the problem is here.
      - 12y ago