H1B

[robertlaferla at attbi.com (Robert La Ferla)]

"Michael Webb" <mwebb at sdmc.com> wrote:

>Not sure if anyone has mentioned this or not, since I just resubscribed,
>but Dr. Norman Matloff (a CS professor at UCD) has an interesting report
>where he argued that, even during the booming economy, there was not a
>desperate shortage of IT professionals, despite claims to the contrary by
>employers who wished to increase the allowable number of H1B visas.  It is
>at http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html

I noticed this too.  Corporations want cheap labor to reduce costs and also because foreign labor is easier to exert authority over (i.e. don't complain or we'll kick you out of the country).  There was no shortage of labor but there was a shortage of cheap labor. 

As much as I prefer this mailing list to stick to technical Linux matters, I must say that this issue is an important one.  I too am angry at the whole situation.  Like many of you, I saw it coming but there was little that could be done at the time.  Everyone was too busy making money in the boom that they could care less about the distant future.  Now, that the future has arrived, everyone is looking back and looking for solutions.  It's a good idea to not support corporations that engage in such practices.  It's a good idea to write to your congressmen and let them know how you feel now and how they will feel in the 2004 election.

Robert