[IP] Tech: A 'hostile environment' for US natives????
Begin forwarded message:
From: Suzanne Johnson <sjohnson@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: May 5, 2005 2:29:32 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dfarber@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Tech: A 'hostile environment' for US natives????
Delivered-To: sjohnson@xxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 05 May 2005 08:35:29 -0700
From: John Reece <kd6rxl@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Hey Suzanne,
Here's a Wall Street Journal editorial that's one for IP. In
fact, I almost burst another cerebral blood vessel reading this
one. As far as I'm concerned this constant clamor for more
foreign engineers in the face of 5 years of tech industry layoffs
is creating a 'hostile environment' for American students
considering an engineering career.
Incidentally, the WSJ is a pretty pricey subscription. Perhaps
these globalization absolutists could lower their costs to the
benefit of consumers by offshoring their editorial staff functions
to Bangalore.
JR
-------------------
High-Tech Brain Drain
May 5, 2005; Page A14
Bill Gates probably didn't shock anyone last week when he said
companies like Microsoft have difficulty finding enough qualified
Americans to hire. That's old hat. But he turned a few heads when
he said immigration policies are threatening U.S. competitiveness
like never before. Asked how he would change current law, Mr. Gates
replied, "I'd certainly get rid of the H1-B visa caps. That's one
of the easiest decisions."
The government grants what are known as H-1B guest-worker visas to
immigrants in specialty fields like math, science, engineering and
medicine. But the number of such visas issued annually is capped at
65,000. That quota is not only unnecessary but ridiculously
inadequate, as evidenced by the fact that the 2005 limit was
reached on the very first day of the government's fiscal year.
Business leaders have long complained that these caps, combined
with a U.S. education system that's not producing enough science
and engineering talent, will inevitably affect domestic growth and
global competitiveness in the technology sector. The U.S. ranks
sixth world-wide in the number of people graduating with bachelor
degrees in engineering. Meanwhile, China is graduating some four
times as many engineers as the U.S., and Japan -- with less than
half of our population -- graduates twice as many engineers as we do.
According to a report by the Higher Education Research Institute at
the University of California at Los Angeles, the percentage of
incoming undergraduates planning to major in computer science
declined by more than 60% between 2000 and 2004, and is now 70%
below its peak in the early 1980s.
So it's no wonder that companies like Microsoft, Intel and IBM have
set up research operations in China and India, which also leads the
U.S. in engineering grads. But outsourcing isn't always about
cutting costs. Mr. Gates told National Public Radio that he's not
looking for cheap labor.
"We would have done some work in those markets [China and India]
regardless," said Mr. Gates. "You want to have some diversity,
particularly in research itself, where you can draw on the talent
pool that's there. But there's no doubt that if we had easier
hiring here in the U.S., we would be doing more in the U.S. and
less outside the U.S."
With so much of the immigration debate focused on low-skilled
workers, it's easy to forget that artificial curbs on the entry of
foreign professionals and international students can restrain
industry's ability to acquire intellectual capital. Immigration
policies that limit access to global talent in a global marketplace
won't keep U.S. innovators and entrepreneurs on the cutting edge.
Nor will they help us continue as the world's science and
technology leader.
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