MESSAGE
| DATE | 2008-03-15 |
| FROM | From: "Joshua Zeidner"
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Tech Development in the US
|
On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:18 AM, Ruben Safir wrote:
> On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:13:21AM -0700, Joshua Zeidner wrote:
> > thing is... an increase in h1-b visas will have a negative effect on
> > the American technology sector. If this is seen as a long term trend,
> > no one will pursue a career in technology, because as it stands it now
> > there is zero career protection. This will further contribute to our
> > economic inadequacy. Bill just loves to talk about all this great
> > technology were going to get when he gets his foreign worker slaves,
> > but Bill... perhaps you should make an OS that actually works first?
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/ypjh6l
> >
> >
>
>
> The whole thing is absurd.
>
> One of the reasons why North California, if not THE REASON, Northern California
> is the tech center of the US is due to the generous and long term contribution
> by the University of California educiational subsidies which has pumped out
> students for decades.
I've lived in Palo Alto and Stanford plays an enormous role in the
startup scene there, so I think I agree with your statements.
>
> For the rest of the nation, schools are completely dependent on foriegn
> students in all their grad programs.
Sure, go spend a day at Stony Brook. The problem has a lot of
facets. Not only is the student body composed of foreign students,
the FACULTY is composed of foreigners with typically one or two older
American citizens running the department. These foreign professors
(in some cases working in state schools) favor non-American students!
Remember this is not a racism issue: its a matter of where tax money
is going, priority, and management of state resources.
I believe the most important factor by far is the pliancy of these
candidates. They do what they're told and they simply don't have the
level of rights that American workers, students, or professors have,
and this is seen as a positive by 'upper management'. This is yet
another brick in the wall for dumbing down of American universities
and total lack of political activity on campus. When I went to school
a LARGE portion of my classmates had zero interest in American
politics, because they weren't American citizens. They were
interested in the American job market though. There are many ways to
solve this problem but what needs to happen first is recognition of
the situation. The event that really set things for me was when SUNY
proposed that they *open a branch in China*. In other words you can
get SUNY degree and never have to leave mainland China.
Basically, if you have faith that organizations like Microsoft can
foster innovation then h1-b *might* be a good idea for America at
large. But I think we all know that large scale orgs don't really do
the heavy lifting of the 'invention' process. And I often see that
recognition of this fact is what often brings people to the Linux/Free
Software scene.
see Kim Berry -at- The Programmers Guild and Norm Matloff for quality
information on these topics.
-jmz
>
> There is not enough human capital here?
>
> Ruben
>
>
>
> >
> > On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Ruben Safir wrote:
> > > I'm posting this because frankly, I'm so sick of the lack of investment
> > > in higher education within the US....
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Editor's note: This story was updated at 3:40 p.m. PDT to add more on
> > > Gates' and Mundies' policy talk.
> > >
> > > WASHINGTON--It's not always easy persuading politicians on Capitol Hill
> > > to take up items on Silicon Valley's wish list, even if you're Bill
> > > Gates and his posse.
> > >
> > > That was one message that the Microsoft chairman and Chief Research and
> > > Strategy Officer Craig Mundie had on Thursday for the some 1,100 local
> > > business and government representatives gathered at a breakfast here
> > > sponsored by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. (NVTC's board
> > > includes companies like IBM, Micron, Unisys, AOL, Sprint Nextel, and,
> > > of course, Microsoft.)
> > >
> > > Gates spent most of his hourlong appearance at the event behind a podium
> > > in a cavernous hotel ballroom, waxing optimistic about the future
> > > of software and hardware. He gave what has become a familiar set of
> > > predictions about the increasing digitization of analog things ("smart"
> > > white boards in offices, physical desktops that are touch-sensitive
> > > computers in themselves, a la Microsoft's Surface tabletop PC) and
> > > the rising importance of software in everything from health care to
> > > three-dimensional simulations to education.
> > >
> > > It was during a question-and-answer session with the audience (in which,
> > > for the record, no members of the media were allowed to participate)
> > > that Gates and Mundie, seated side by side on the stage, opened up a
> > > bit about the dynamics of trying to get their wide-ranging priorities
> > > noticed by policy setters.
> > >
> > > "Historically, the United States has done a great job of doing the right
> > > investments," Gates said. The concern going forward, he said, is whether
> > > politicians will be willing to make the "trade-offs" necessary to keep
> > > the nation ahead of other countries in the high-tech realm.
> > >
> > > For example, it may be more attractive in the short term for politicians
> > > to hand out income tax rebates, but they mustn't neglect choices that
> > > could support long-term economic growth, such as upping federal grants
> > > for research and development and increasing the number of visas for
> > > skilled foreign workers, Gates said.
> > >
> > > But Mundie, for one, said he sometimes finds that action on Silicon Valley
> > > priorities can be a tough sell, as politicians have a tendency to respond,
> > > "The polls won't let us do that."
> > >
> > > Congress: 'Skewed to the short term' Members of representative democracy
> > > are supposed to know how to balance those competing goals, but Congress's
> > > decisions are "too skewed to the short term right now," Mundie said.
> > >
> > > Both executives were responding to a question from Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.),
> > > who was present in the event's audience, about the "political context"
> > > the Microsoft co-founder and his cohorts have been finding during their
> > > in-person meetings with congressional leaders this week.
> > >
> > > Gates was on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning speaking to a House of
> > > Representatives committee about the need for three major areas of action:
> > > increasing the number of H-1B temporary visas and green-card permanent
> > > visas that are allotted to high-tech workers; increasing investments in
> > > federal research programs; and focusing on ways to improve the educational
> > > system, particularly in the math and science fields.
> > >
> > > Afterward, he spoke to the Democratic caucus. He also dined with
> > > congressional leaders on Tuesday night. All in all, the experience has
> > > been what Moran called a "barnstorming tour" of both chambers of Congress.
> > >
> > > Gates, echoing his public remarks in Congress Wednesday, said that raising
> > > visa caps is the "hot issue of the moment" for his company. Microsoft and
> > > others argue that there aren't enough qualified workers to fill highly
> > > technical engineering roles at their companies and that a shortage of work
> > > visas could stymie their ability to compete with foreign companies. The
> > > request, however, is controversial--groups representing American computer
> > > programmers argue that a larger number of visas will depress wages and
> > > displace American workers.
> > >
> > > "I'm still optimistic about the U.S. doing the right thing," Gates said.
> > >
> > > White spaces for wireless broadband In response to an audience member's
> > > question, Gates and Mundie also touched briefly on another policy issue
> > > that's dear to Microsoft's business: freeing up vacant TV channels--known
> > > as "white spaces" in FCC speak--for use as a wireless broadband
> > > pipe. Companies like his hope that delivery method could eventually
> > > compete with cable and DSL offerings and lead to lower prices and more
> > > choices for consumers.
> > >
> > > The white spaces are considered ideal for deploying wireless broadband
> > > services because its signals can travel long distances and through
> > > obstacles--or, as Mundie put it, "the last hope to get some good
> > > spectrum." (Microsoft isn't the only company with that view--Google,
> > > Dell, Intel, and HP are also interested.)
> > >
> > > The plan, however, faces serious resistance from TV broadcasters, who
> > > argue that allowing unlicensed devices to roam on that spectrum will
> > > cause serious interference to their signals. So far, the FCC hasn't made a
> > > decision on what to do about the small swath of unused channels, although
> > > it is currently testing prototype devices for interference concerns.
> > >
> > > Gates, for his part, said he's "hopeful" that regulators will decide in
> > > the tech industry's favor.
> > > --
> > > http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
> > > http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
> > >
> > > So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
> > >
> > > http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
> > >
> > > "Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
> > >
> > > "The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."
> > >
> > > "> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
> > > You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."
> > >
> > > (c) Copyright for the Digital Millennium
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > - http://www.joshuazeidner.com/
>
> --
>
> http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
> http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
>
> So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
>
> http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
>
> "Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
>
> "The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."
>
> "> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
> You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."
>
>
>
> (c) Copyright for the Digital Millennium
>
--
- http://www.joshuazeidner.com/
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