"When future generations look back upon the middle class society we have lost because of corporate greed and cynical politics, Harris Miller+óGé¼Gäós infamy will surely be a part of this sad chapter in our once great nation+óGé¼Gäós history."
Increasingly we hear arguments that America needs additional technical and scientific workers. This is usually presented in articles which urge us to believe that +óGé¼+ôwe+óGé¼-¥ (American corporations) will lose our ability to compete if we (the elected representatives of the American people) don+óGé¼Gäót allow in large numbers of educated and skilled foreign workers to fill jobs here in the U.S.
Such claims are eerily familiar and rather ironic because Harris Miller has made such claims for more than a decade as a business lobbyist. Miller+óGé¼Gäós career was built on selling mythical high tech labor shortages to Congress and the public to justify the entrance of tens of thousands and then hundreds of thousands of foreign +óGé¼+ôtech sector+óGé¼-¥ guest workers
Now, American tech workers are reaching the end of the road. The future of Americans in this field is in serious question. Magazine articles have been written about the situation but nothing will be done to change the trend because the political and business forces in control of our society don+óGé¼Gäót care.
We+óGé¼Gäóre on the path to becoming a Third World nation. American corporations have decided that American +óGé¼+ôbrains+óGé¼-¥ cost too much. Labor cost savings mean more to them than an investment in quality. Only +óGé¼+ôcheap+óGé¼-¥ brains are of interest.
Allow me to put a human face on this situation which alludes to the future of this country.
My young son talks about black holes, watches PBS +óGé¼+ôNova+óGé¼-¥ and does basic algebra. He+óGé¼Gäós exceptionally intelligent and I+óGé¼Gäóm very proud of him.
My son might have become a third generation engineer but I consider this highly unlikely. I doubt that my son will do anything technical or scientific. This is a source of considerable regret and bitterness in our family. We haven't told him that his dreams have been stolen.
If my son attends college, it is unlikely that he will study any branch of engineering or anything scientific at all. You see, this work is earmarked for Third World workers now. +óGé¼+ôAmerican brains+óGé¼-¥ cost too much. American business and American politicians have decided that Americans will not have these sorts of jobs no matter their public statements. Actions speak louder than words.
The evidence indicates that most employers discard their American employees at the earliest sign of a cheaper foreign substitute. (Economists call this "labor arbitrage".) Wagering that successful completion of an engineering or scientific degree will lead to employment in such a field is foolish. The Bureau of Labor Statisitics tell the story of declining technical and engineering jobs for Americans...
American employers have given every reason to believe that anything that can be moved offshore will be moved offshore. They have poisoned the well in this country and they have the audacity to lie about +óGé¼+ôtech labor shortages+óGé¼-¥ (Harris Miller+óGé¼Gäós special talent) while untold numbers of American high tech workers are unemployed, underemployed or discouraged from even seeking employment.
The numbers of Americans in IT are shrinking. (Perhaps this is why Harris left his job; there are fewer American jobs to destroy.)
Successive waves of outsourcing and the presence of foreign low wage replacement workers makes the white collar job market for Americans very tight. Tech workers are fleeing this disaster when they can. College students are avoiding professions which offer nothing but the threat of job loss to outsourcing or foreign replacement workers in the U.S.
Who should we blame for this situation? Politicians and business leaders certainly.
We should also blame Harris Miller the outsourcing lobbyist who has done so much to help ruin our high tech jobs sector for Americans. Miller+óGé¼Gäós conduct is disgraceful and as morally reprehensible as anything that Jack Abramoff has done.
It could, in fact, be argued that Harris Miller has done greater harm to our society than Jack Abramoff and that by way of comparison, it is a cruel irony that Abramoff is the one being punished by society. It is a commentary on the perversions of justice which reward liars and political confidence men whose despicable actions remain within the letter of the law.
When future generations look back upon the middle class society we have lost because of corporate greed and cynical politics, Harris Miller+óGé¼Gäós infamy will surely be a part of this sad chapter in our once great nation+óGé¼Gäós history.
What sector of the U.S. economy has enjoyed that kind of growth?
I'll entertain a more professional model, but being extremely conservative, suppose that only 1/2 of that is to the U.S. Also, being very conservative, suppose that only 1/2 of that represents actual salaries with the rest for plant and overhead, and furthermore that the employee averages a modest for here but good for there salary of $36K (18*40*50). That's a minimum of 469,000 jobs being shipped out to India only.
This includes call center folks along with info tech, i.e., lots of basic jobs. Miller's strength is in lobbying leaders of special interest groups and local officials behind closed doors, and it is reasonable to wonder if that's what this alleged stealth trip was all about.
To say that Martinsville and surrounds are economically challenged is an understatement. When two people from that area encounter each other elsewhere, a standard part of the conversation is to ask if the other person's family "got out." The region is hurting. A thousand or so jobs at 36K would be a godsend.
Here's a scenario. Out of the 469,000+ jobs now in India, Miller takes a mere 10 or 20 thousand and promises them around in increments of 2500 in metro or cow pasture call centers. (Not making fun; I actually reached a call center in a cow pasture once.) With a nice powerpoint, he explains how he can deliver, and the local guys are sold. They support his run to their constituents.
Miller gets elected, and delivers. What's so bad about that? It's in the process. for starters, he would own those towns forever. Should some local dare step out of line, he can threaten to send those jobs to Richmond - or if it's a Richmond local, to Southside. If lots of them get out of line, tough luck - they go back to India. They would end up back there anyway whenever he's thrown out of office.
The alternative? Bring those 10 or 20 thousand jobs back openly. Just do it without a con artist as middle man. A life well-lived involves self-respect. Leave proven "go-to" guys like Harris Miller and Virgil Goode out of the conversation. Bring the jobs back in the light of day, not as a variety of vote-buying backroom deal. It really is not necessary to continue to empower these characters inappropriately.
We've already seen the kind of damage done with these sketchy deals on the part of Virgil Goode and the MZM scandal. Lots of money, lots of players, lots of tax dollars, lot of I-am-shocked-and-amazed excuses resulting in only 75-150 jobs. Whether in dollars or self-respect, the price tag for a trying to make a decent living is too high with these guys. Similarly, we'll never know exactly what Miller is really up to because it will all be "secret."
Along with bringing in jobs, we really need to fix in a very fundamental way an infrastructure so broken that it rewards shady characters over honest workers and the most basic honesty in government leadership.