Should Foreign Workers get the Boot When Americans Hurt?

"The H-1B visa program, which has been widely used by technology
companies to staff their research and development labs, has always been
controversial. But lately it's gone critical, as what we euphemistically refer
to as a "pause" in the economy has unleashed a wave of layoffs at
high-tech companies that only 18 months ago couldn't hire quickly enough,
whether at home or overseas."
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2805113,00.html
[This message has been edited by Tony Alicea (edited August 17, 2001).]

Good article. Thanks Tony.
I taught in a public high school for a short while. It was a nightmare. The majority of my students were lazy abusive cretins whose parents always wanted to know why I was picking on their kids. There were a few good kids but they were easily outnumbered by the chattering obnoxious majority. You might notice many states are currently having (public school) teacher shortages. Take a guess why.
The article mentions the failure of American public education. This is wrong. The public education system has not failed. It relies on parents doing their job of raising their kids to be motivated productive respectful students.
...Not sure exactly how this relates to the h1b situation... Food for thought I guess.

My students complained to me that last semester they had very incompetent teacher who did not teach them anything. I do have lots of catching up with them. It is really said that those who should deliver do not deliver especially to those who pays for the service.
More food for thought I guess.

The majority of my students were lazy abusive cretins whose parents always wanted to know why I was picking on their kids. There were a few good kids but they were easily outnumbered by the chattering obnoxious majority.

Ha! That I believe.
Instead of going on about standardized testing I would like to see a politician say "we need to have a maximum of 20 students per teacher". Cutting down on class size would help a lot more than going on about testing all the time.

Standardized tests have caused the death of the public school system... Now teachers teach to the test, either because it is easier, or they are forced to... the tests force knowledge into a "lowest common denominator" position, and assumes a conformity of intelligence among the students. I'm so sick of the bureaucracy strangling everything...

Intresting, tony started a topic and people started talking about different things all together. Tony you have a valid point, but you know it is just that because of the down turns in the market, the companys wants to pay less and thats the reason they are looking for foriegn workers, and the Government is doing what the industry wants.

Neha,
We *are* discussing the topic Tony introduced. The article he brought up mentions the "failure of the US public education system" and suggests that it's become easier (cheaper?) to import educated people on H1B's rather than educate them here.
You also mentioned that Tony had a valid point. He actually had no point. He simply posted a link to an article and posted a tidbit of that article.
Nathan, don't be too sick of it; bureaucracy always strangles creativity, inspiration, and excellence. That's why there's always opportunity for the little guy (in this case, private schools).

Politicians make the laws, businesses give them lots of money, they make laws which allow businesses to make lots of money. Workers get the shaft.
Change the campaign finance laws and the cycle would be broken, but that is hard as the politicians make the laws in the first place.
(Sorry for the bad spelling.)

YES

I would like to have your opinions regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of this idea:
Form a nation-wide IT workforce organization to talk and telephone each congressman and senator and to lobby at the Capitol if labor union is not an option.