Take your pick between H-1B or outsourcing

Date: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 11:28 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

April 05, 2006 No. 1452

(This contains a slight update concerning the web bug at Informationweek
for those of you that received this previously.)

A "Morton's Fork" is an expression that describes a choice between two
equally unpleasant alternatives, or two lines of reasoning that lead to the
same unpleasant conclusion. The term was originated by John Morton, Lord
Chancellor in 1487, under the rule of Henry VII who said,

Either the nobles of this country appear wealthy,
in which case they can be taxed for good;
or they appear poor, in which case they are
living frugally and must have immense savings,
which can be taxed for good."

Paul McDougall, a senior editor for Informationweek, committed a Morton's
Fork in his recent blog:

Failure by federal lawmakers to allow more skilled IT workers
into the country will result in more U.S. corporations simply
outsourcing their computer work to India or some other
offshore locale.

This is a false choice because outsourcing will continue to accelerate
whether we have H-1B or not. The H-1B program tends to facilitate
outsourcing but dingbats like McDougall ignore the obvious. Hank Zupnick,
CIO of GE Real Estate, explained to CIO magazine why H-1B visas are
necessary for outsourcing because it allows knowledge transfer:

"You need to keep employees there long enough to share
their knowledge with their Indian replacements," Zupnick
explains.

McDougall is asking American workers whether they would prefer to lose
their jobs to a foreigner who lives in another country, or to a foreigner
who comes to the U.S. to work. That's a lousy choice, but if I had to
choose, I would tell the "whatever incorporated" to get their arses out of
my country and take their jobs and shove it! I would also bar them from
doing business in the United States until they adopt a more patriotic
attitude. We don't need employers who refuse to hire Americans.

McDougall provides an area for commentary following the article, but
earlier this morning there was a software bug that prevented postings. At
the time of this newsletter, I tried to post using MS Explorer and it
wouldn't work, but Firefox did. Perhaps if Informationweek would stop
hiring so many H-1Bs they would have less glitches. Email him at:
paulmcd@cmp.com

To see the LCA that Informationweek filed for an H-1B web developer, go to
this URL:
http://www.h1b.info/lca_search.php

Enter CMP because that is the company that owns Informationweek. Choose
"all years" and then search. You will see that their H-1B web developer
works in New York and earns $65,000 a year. That must be one of those jobs
that Bush says Americans don't want or can't do.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2006/04/us_needs_more_h.html

U.S. Needs More H-1B Workers Or More Offshore Outsourcing: Take Your Pick
By Paul McDougall
Apr 4, 2006 at 10:41 AM ET

As Congress considers a massive expansion of the H-1B visa worker program,
opponents of the plan should consider this: Failure by federal lawmakers to
allow more skilled IT workers into the country will result in more U.S.
corporations simply outsourcing their computer work to India or some other
offshore locale where skilled help is plentiful and cheap. Is that what you
really want?

The equation is pretty simple. The U.S. is facing a shortage of IT workers
that will only get worse over time as boomers retire. Meanwhile, emerging
countries like India and China will continue to enjoy large surpluses of
such workers for the foreseeable future. So we can either bring those
workers here, or send our IT jobs overseas. Those are the two options.

Training more U.S.-born tech workers would be a great third option, but
unfortunately most graduates of U.S. high schools aren't remotely prepared
for college-level math, and only 5% of U.S. college undergrads are
currently pursuing degrees in science or engineering. Until all that
changes, no third option.

So here we are. Great American companies like Microsoft and IBM will
continue to expand operations in India and China rather than invest
domestically because they have little choice. What's the point of building
new tech centers in Washington State, Texas, or upstate New York if there's
no one to staff them? At any given time, Microsoft has 3,500 to 4,500 open
positions in the U.S. that go unfilled due to a shortage of qualified
candidates.

As Congress considers an expansion of the H-1B program--doubling the
current cap of 65,000 is one possibility on the table--those opposed should
carefully consider the consequences of their position. Restrictions on the
import of skilled IT workers into the U.S. will increase the rate at which
U.S. corporations export those jobs. And once exported, to quote global
economist Bruce Springsteen, "These jobs are going, boys, and they ain't
coming back."

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