Tech: A 'hostile environment' for US natives????

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Suzanne  Johnson <sjohnson () pobox com>
Date: May 5, 2005 2:29:32 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>
Subject: Tech: A 'hostile environment' for US natives????




> Delivered-To: sjohnson () pobox com
> Date: Thu, 05 May 2005 08:35:29 -0700
> From: John Reece <kd6rxl () usamedia tv>
>
>
> 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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