Want to Create Jobs, Let Them In!

Montanaro!

I vehemently disagree with your H1b promotion and have already contacted my Congressional Representatives about Startup Act 2.0.  We have a current unemployment and underemployment rate of between 14% and 25% depending on the source.  Why would we be clamoring to bring in more foreigners, exactly?  Isn't it enough we educate them thinking they'll return to their own country and fix the problems there so we don't have to offer more foreign aid?   That is exactly how these education subsidies and policies were sold to the American people during the 60s. 

What about the projected explosion in population growth over the next 30-40 years?  Currently the estimate is 450 million people in the U.S. which will negatively impact our environment, and cause increased pressure on resources like fresh water (already a problem in California) and result in decreased standards of living for all.

Third, I'm more than a little frustrated with the cheap labor business lobby shoving their cost burdens on taxpayers.  And yes, that includes legal immigrants who use social services at only slightly lower rates that illegal immigrants do.  I am highly suspicious of these "studies" as they are often done to support this or that company's desire to bring in more cheap labor.  Recall, if you will the scandal a few years ago about the immigration law firm which offered seminars to companies on how to skirt employment law to ensure H1b suitability. 

I have worked with hundreds of immigrants in my career.  One of them in my office is an accountant.  I have never thought of accountants as something we don't have enough of or even in the "brainiac" category.  Which is one issue:  H1b is not "brainiac".  It even includes a category for fashion models (H1b3) which certainly doesn't require a brain.  In addition to those accountants and IT workers people like you are so fond of importing in times of high unemployment while simultaneously denying your fellow citizens like returning veterans opportunities, H1b's only requirement is a bachelors.  Don't we have plenty of them here?  And isn't this REALLY about supply and demand?  Don't we have plenty of workers willing to work, but not at the rates offered?  Surely, you understand the impact of price on a supply-demand curve?  Many college grads here cannot compete because they have debt accumulated whereas those foreigners do not.  I'd say that gives them an unfair advantage. 

On top of that, in my experience immigrants have two strikes against them:  1) no language skills which is tough to fix because we consider it racist to make anyone actually learn English;  2) culturally-inbred chauvinism having originated in countries like India which have an ingrained caste system and condone sexism as part of their national identity.  How do you propose to overcome these deeply anti-American cultural negatives?  As a woman, I find this influx of imported chauvinism disturbing and offensive to American values like fair treatment.  I don't want more of those attitudes here in the U.S. so American employers can get cheap labor. 

Finally, the worst reason we could use to encourage more immigration is funding a doomed Ponzi scheme of government entitlements.  I cannot believe you would suggest that.  We need real reform, in our education system as well as government entitlements.  THAT is what a brave and creative person would suggest, not some band-aid solution like Startup Act 2.0. 

A healthy dose of skepticism about immigration myths is necessary if we're going to fulfill our obligations to American and be honest with ourselves about our current dire fiscal situation.  Stop parroting the party line and start analyzing the data.  Americans first, Americans last, Americans always!

The McKinsey survey found almost two-thirds of companies say they have "positions for which they often cannot find qualified applicants . . .with scientists and computer engineers topping the list.”

One of the problems is the hiring process not the lack of qualified people.  The kind of companies that McKinsey would survey almost always have a Human Relations Department that does the first cut.  The disheveled dresser with a borrowed plaid sports coat wearing his only dress shirt (with stripes) who is a school dropout just will not survive the first interview no matter how good of programmer he may be.

Starting with IBM in 1959 and  a number of companies since that time I have worked with and trained hundreds of programmers and observed the work of thousands more.

From this experience the following deductions:

1. Good programmers can be made but Great Programmers born!

2. All, repeat all, great programmers are weird!  The exception rule does not apply.

What is the chance that the following individual would be approved by HR?

High school dropout at age 16, worked number of odd jobs until age 18.

Then worked 12 years as a hard rock underground miner until the mine closed.

Graduated from a 6 month programming course offered by a private vocational school.

Had poor conversational skills and dress habits honed by years in a small mining town.

The HR answer of course is no chance at all.

I hired Louis based on personal interaction as the teacher for the vocational school.  When the project that he was hired for was complete I made a personal recommendation to a manager of a county highway department who agreed to try him out as the sixth man in a programming department that was always late on projects.  Within two years Louis was head of the department, four of the other programmers had been transferred or let go and Louis was given free rein to attend whatever classes he wished in order to keep busy and interested.  Oh yes, projects were on time, and ran correctly. 

The manager that hired him was thought to be a miracle worker since his department was run so well and slightly under budget.  Even though Louis was now making as much money as his nominal boss and spending significant dollar amounts flitting about the country attending classes.

Louis was one of the top 5 programmers I have ever known.

 

 

Ironic, this weeks announcement from Obama....