Boston Globe Letters

Date: Wednesday, February 05, 2003 9:04 AM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

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OPINION

Letters
Compiled By Globe Staff

Globe reporter Diane E. Lewis's story ''Shift of tech jobs abroad
speeding up, report says,'' published in the Dec. 25 Business section,
generated letters from around the country. Here is what some readers
had to say.

What do we expect?

As a retired senior citizen, all of this becomes arcane and
theoretical. Does one not think there is some correlation between what
you write about and the ''retailers' fear?'' When we export our best
engineering jobs abroad, do we expect to see planeloads of buyers from
India, Russia, Ireland, and China take the bus to the Burlington Mall
to get their goods, or for that matter buy any goods manufactured in
the United States? Do you think these stores are buying more display
ads in The Boston Globe or technology companies are buying more want
ads in the Globe?

When we shift jobs like electrical engineering, software engineering,
and software development out of the United States, what do we expect to
take their place? These are elite jobs that technically gifted people
desire to go into. Do we make more space in Harvard Business School for
these people or maybe Harvard Law School? Do we expand our $6-an-hour
service jobs to accommodate these engineers? Maybe we send all these
people to the Midwest to make real money setting up factories for
designer drugs. Does anyone really think this exportation is good for
our economy from a macroeconomic point of view?

The high-tech employees are just plain stupid in not organizing. ''Oh,
you do not want to work a 12-hour shift (at no additional pay of
course)? Well, we will just send your job abroad. The pathos of seeing
whole families fired and not being able to even get close to comparable
jobs is too much to take.

Richard Coleman

Bedford

Another tea party

December in Boston 229 years ago came to mind as I read the article
about the planned destruction of the American working class by business
and government elite. Then, it was the arrogance of a distant English
king and the East India Co. that galvanized the fury of Americans - the
Boston Tea Party.

Today, our government and corporations, in order to cut costs, are
colluding to destroy American livelihoods by exporting overseas
''professional positions in technology, law, art, architecture, life
sciences, and business management'' (informationweek.com, Dec. 13,
2002). Another act of patriotism is called for.

American politicians and corporate CEOs who think they can lead lavish
lives while we ''colonists'' are made jobless need to be thrown
overboard.

Tim Aaronson

El Cerrito, Calif.

Focus on the positives

The partnership between the United States and India is just blossoming,
and IT is one of the channels. USA is the world's melting pot and India
is the ''melted pot'' of the past. Strong education skills, English
communication abilities, a democratic plural polity, and, above all,
the desire and ambition to succeed are the strong points of India and
its people.

A booming Indian economy with its 1 billion population also means more
business for Ford, Coke, Microsoft, Dell, etc.

American companies stand to gain enormously by tapping the huge Indian
market. India needs a lot that America has to offer, from
transportation and infrastructure to power plants. So Americans should
not get negative when the forces of globalization affect some
individuals. Instead, we should focus on the positives of increased
distribution of wealth, coming together of cultures, and new business
opportunities.

American enterprises need low-cost bases to fight the competition from
Korean and Chinese companies.

By following misguided socialist policies for the past few decades
India made a big mistake. Likewise, America wrongly developed
friendships with nations such as Pakistan and ignored India.

The emerging partnership between India and USA is based on values and
common interests that will stand the test of time. I pray for the
prosperity of both nations.

Vinod K. Thumala

Atlanta

Questions unanswered

The questions never answered by these employers (maybe it's never asked
by journalists): What jobs will Americans work at if their jobs are all
going overseas? Who will pay for these companies' services if Americans
are not working? Is shifting some of these jobs overseas a secure thing
to do? What would prevent programmers in some of these countries from
building in backdoor access to the computer programs or to program them
to crash?

I'm convinced I can never underestimate the greed and shortsightedness
of American employers. Even Henry Ford, no enlightened employer,
understood that in order to sell cars he had to pay his employees a
decent wage.

How exactly will Americans live if they have no decent-paying jobs? Is
the country going to have a great divide, with 5 percent really rich
and 95 percent really poor? I don't believe America as we know it can
survive without a middle class. After all, if you're poor and have no
hope of improving your lot in life, why should you not steal, kill, and
riot?

Mike Baker

Whitehall, Pa.

Only the elite benefit

As of Dec. 13, 2002, I am an unemployed computer programmer with 22
years experience. At 43, I have little hope of finding gainful
employment in this field anytime soon. Who is going to buy the products
these companies produce? They keep talking about how improved
efficiency will benefit the American economy. How so? I earned roughly
$95,000 per year. I am now getting $405 per week unemployment. If I
can't land a job in this field soon, I will probably get my CDL and
become a truck driver earning $40,000 at best.

How is this good for the American economy? My purchasing power will be
cut in half, maybe more. I will also drain a portion of my savings
during this transition.

The ultimate outcome of this trend is the American standard of living
being dragged down. What other job can we displaced high-tech workers
and other white-collar workers move into that pays as well if not
better and can't be offshored? What's the new technology that can only
be developed and staffed in America? There is none. The only people
benefiting from this are the elite, the corporate officers reaping
obscene compensation while they are destroying the dreams and
aspirations of millions of Americans of modest means.

This offshoring and H-1B/L-1 temporary guest worker visa issue is a
national disgrace. It is far more serious a threat to America than al
Qaeda. An economically strong country can overcome the most challenging
obstacles. We are selling out the people who drive the American economy
- the American consumer. What is the cost to the economy of the million
or so offshored jobs? How about the 3.3 million the Forrester survey
predicts?

What will the impact be on Americans pursuing degrees in computer
science and engineering? Why go into debt to the tune of tens of
thousands of dollars when the jobs are either going to India or
domestic wages are driven down by cheap, nonimmigrant labor?

I can't tell you how outraged I am! I sit here watching my future
evaporate before my very eyes. I also see a once proud nation sell its
soul for the almighty dollar. What will become of this great nation? I
am very scared. I am trying my best not to despair. It is a struggle.

If this situation was fully understood by all Americans it would be
stopped before it is too late. I don't think today's Americans can
weather another Great Depression. We are not made of the ''right stuff.
If things unfold as I believe they may, the social contract between the
governed and the government may fall apart.

Joseph E. Monterosso

Rotterdam Jct., N.Y.

A good idea gone bad

I have been in the high-tech recruiting business for 28 years and have
watched it grow and transform, and have had fun in that endeavor, as I
truly found myself a ''headhunter'' and helped to staff many start-ups.
It is most painful to watch the demise of the high-tech industry today
and to feel the pain of all the thousands of folks I know who no longer
have jobs (the unemployment figures are lies). Where is the Bush
administration in all of this?

What was once a nice idea to spread the wealth and grow the world
economy so we would have many nations to buy our stuff, to create more
markets for our industry, has turned sour. By sending jobs overseas,
who is left here to buy this stuff? Surely at one-third the salary, if
at any salary, no one is about to keep up the purchase of these
software and hardware systems. Who is the next generation of creative
genius? It will form overseas. We are so stupid - in our
shortsightedness of profits we do not see how it will affect the next
generation of developers and users, and ultimately consumers.

This is an issue for the times, maybe the issue of the times. No one
yelled that loudly when manufacturing began its demise, but now the
middle and upper-middle class is the loser, and it will be interesting
to see how that group reacts. After all, we are the ones in the
$300,000 to $1 million homes, and two to four cars, but not for long.

I do hope I'm wrong. I hope new ideas will emerge and new employment
opportunities will be forthcoming. But where do we go from here?

Ted Korbel

West Yarmouth

Security also put at risk

A friend whose contract was terminated due the exportations of tasks to
India had a good solution: ''Why don't we all move to India and
contract with American companies to give us work?''

It is very sad that we have gotten to this stage of thinking. All kind
of emigration has been allowed by the United States throughout the
years and we have used other countries to do our manual labor to
provide a less expensive product; but by using other countries to do
our technical functions we are not just cutting jobs of experienced US
techies, but putting our home security in jeopardy.

Just think about a computer program, technical design, or any other
critical task with a `bug' (or intentionally bad intentions), used by
our flight controllers or credit card processors, the stock market or
banks, or our goverment. We are exporting some of these tasks to
countries with not-so-good relations with the United States, and some
of these countries hate Americans.

Let's be safer by limiting the imports of goods and services that do
not put our country in an unsafe condition. Let's be more careful and
keep those jobs that could cause disastrous conditions in our homeland.

Jorge Padron

Bay Shore, N.Y.

The Globe Business section welcomes letters from readers. E-mail
letters to business@globe.com; fax to 617-929-3183; or mail to Business
Letters, c/o Cheryl A. Appel, The Boston Globe, P.O. Box 2378, Boston,
MA 02107-2378. Letters intended for publication should include the
writer's name, address, and daytime phone number. All letters are
subject to editing.

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