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This is a very biased article. The author neglects to mention that a very large portion of income generated by foreign born workers is sent home by those worke

by fnid 17y ago

This is a very biased article. The author neglects to mention that a very large portion of income generated by foreign born workers is sent home by those workers. The money doesn't stay in America to benefit the American economy. It also doesn't benefit the case to call those opposed to more immigration Xenophobes. They aren't xenophobes, they are rationally aware of the situation. Also, what he says is not true according to the research: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=794685 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=794685 and http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=794677 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=794677 Furthermore, H1-B's are not "highly skilled." The majority of H1B workers take entry level jobs. There is an O-1 visa for highly skilled workers and there is no cap on this visa. If this debate was really about bringing in more highly skilled workers, then why argue for uncapping the lower skilled visa? Wouldn't corporations just bring in more O-1 visas, for which there is an unlimited supply available? The reality is that O-1 visas cost more than H1B visas to employ. This debate is really about concentrating more power in the corporations and erradicating the middle class in America.

kiba 17y ago
All economies depend on trade and division of labors to be prosperous. So money going back to India and other countries may help increase global trade.
- fnid 17y ago
  It will increase consumption in those countries, but not necessarily consumption of american goods. I think that money will benefit America more if it stays in America. This will happen if we employ more Americans who spend all of their money in America, rather than sending some of it to family members in other countries.
- rdtsc 17y ago
  It's nice to help India's economy, or China or Russia. Unfortunately, US is not in the charitable business of helping developing economies.
  - kiba 17y ago
    You did not clearly understood the implication of "trade" part. If trade is central to the wealth of society, then more trading with other economies of the world will lead to increased wealth in the US. In fact, we have the largest free trade zone right here in the US. Goods and services in the US, for the most part, move freely.
    - fnid 17y ago
      Increase in wealth for whom? The upper class or the middle class or the lower class? I think qui bono is the central question in this issue. The wealthy in America benefit, but the middle and lower class does not. Research shows, as the middle class increases in wealth, then so does the whole economy and through increasing H1B's, we are eliminating the middle class american worker to jobs overseas.
      - kiba 17y ago
        Common sense should already suggest that trade is mutually benefical because well, I get stuff that I wanted, and you get stuff that you want. Why should trade only specifically benefit some certain classes of society? Read the article on comparative advantage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage This is the reason why we specialize and trade, because everybody will be better off.
    - rdtsc 17y ago
      Not necessarily, it depends who controls the trade. There is rarely such a thing as "free trade" or "free market" -- it is a pipe dream. Trade is mostly about controls, tariffs and subsidies. Usually the powerful side control the trade. > largest free trade zone right here in the US. That is true, but I thought we are talking about internation trade.
- pieceofpeace 17y ago
  That money goes after tax has been paid, house bought etc. It has many immediate benefit for the host country. The host is not subsidizing the alien's home country.
xiaoma 17y ago
The reality is that very, very few highly skilled technical people, even people like Jerry Yang or Sergey Brin would have qualified for O-1 visas if they had needed to try. It's also indisputable that Yahoo! and Google have each generated a lot of jobs an a lot of tax revenues for the US. The following is from Wikipedia: Generally, to qualify for O-1 classification, aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim and recognition for achievements in the field of expertise by providing evidence of: Receipt of a major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize; or at least three of the following forms of documentation: 1. Documentation of the alien's receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor; 2. Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field for which classification is sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields; 3. Published material in professional or major trade publications or major media about the alien, relating to the alien's work in the field for which classification is sought, which shall include the title, date, and author of such published material, and any necessary translation; 4. Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied field of specialization to that for which classification is sought; 5. Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field; 6. Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional journals, or other major media; 7. Evidence that the alien has been employed in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation; 8. Evidence that the alien has either commanded a high salary or will command a high salary or other remuneration for services, evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence.

by fnid 17y ago

kiba 17y ago

All economies depend on trade and division of labors to be prosperous. So money going back to India and other countries may help increase global trade.

fnid 17y ago
It will increase consumption in those countries, but not necessarily consumption of american goods. I think that money will benefit America more if it stays in America. This will happen if we employ more Americans who spend all of their money in America, rather than sending some of it to family members in other countries.
rdtsc 17y ago
It's nice to help India's economy, or China or Russia. Unfortunately, US is not in the charitable business of helping developing economies.
- kiba 17y ago
  You did not clearly understood the implication of "trade" part. If trade is central to the wealth of society, then more trading with other economies of the world will lead to increased wealth in the US. In fact, we have the largest free trade zone right here in the US. Goods and services in the US, for the most part, move freely.
  - fnid 17y ago
    Increase in wealth for whom? The upper class or the middle class or the lower class? I think qui bono is the central question in this issue. The wealthy in America benefit, but the middle and lower class does not. Research shows, as the middle class increases in wealth, then so does the whole economy and through increasing H1B's, we are eliminating the middle class american worker to jobs overseas.
    - kiba 17y ago
      Common sense should already suggest that trade is mutually benefical because well, I get stuff that I wanted, and you get stuff that you want. Why should trade only specifically benefit some certain classes of society? Read the article on comparative advantage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage This is the reason why we specialize and trade, because everybody will be better off.
  - rdtsc 17y ago
    Not necessarily, it depends who controls the trade. There is rarely such a thing as "free trade" or "free market" -- it is a pipe dream. Trade is mostly about controls, tariffs and subsidies. Usually the powerful side control the trade. > largest free trade zone right here in the US. That is true, but I thought we are talking about internation trade.
pieceofpeace 17y ago
That money goes after tax has been paid, house bought etc. It has many immediate benefit for the host country. The host is not subsidizing the alien's home country.

xiaoma 17y ago

The reality is that very, very few highly skilled technical people, even people like Jerry Yang or Sergey Brin would have qualified for O-1 visas if they had needed to try. It's also indisputable that Yahoo! and Google have each generated a lot of jobs an a lot of tax revenues for the US. The following is from Wikipedia: Generally, to qualify for O-1 classification, aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim and recognition for achievements in the field of expertise by providing evidence of: Receipt of a major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize; or at least three of the following forms of documentation: 1. Documentation of the alien's receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor; 2. Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field for which classification is sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields; 3. Published material in professional or major trade publications or major media about the alien, relating to the alien's work in the field for which classification is sought, which shall include the title, date, and author of such published material, and any necessary translation; 4. Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied field of specialization to that for which classification is sought; 5. Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field; 6. Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional journals, or other major media; 7. Evidence that the alien has been employed in a critical or essential capacity for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation; 8. Evidence that the alien has either commanded a high salary or will command a high salary or other remuneration for services, evidenced by contracts or other reliable evidence.