Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Magic Kingdom in Peril 2.0

(this post is a continuation-in-part of this one)
People who lost jobs there said they had to sit with immigrants from India, some on temporary work visas known as H-1B, and teach them to perform their jobs as a condition for receiving severance. But it remained unclear on Tuesday who had initiated the change of strategy at Disney/ABC or whether it was part of a larger change in direction, because Disney executives declined to discuss it.  h/t: r,l
Read the whole thing. I think the un- and under-employment situation will be the biggest driver of cross-party politics-- i.e., making people willing to cross party lines and to vote against the promulgators of open borders and limitless H-1B visas.

19 comments:

edutcher said...

I don't know what that place is, but it ought to change its name to something besides Disney.

Walt gave a damn about his people.

bagoh20 said...

For what it cost to take a family of four there for the day I would expect each employee could afford their own immigrant butler. Where does all the money go?

chickelit said...

Lots of people bitch and moan about the cost of getting in but few come right out and say afterwards "that sucked" and "I wouldn't do it again."

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

I cannot for the life of me figure out why Republican candidates (at least some of them) have not latched onto this issue and run with it. Why pander to businesses that want this cheap labor, the votes are with the workers. And Democrats are completely conflicted with their open border policy.

bagoh20 said...

I only went once, probably 20 years ago, and I never went back, but that's because I'm exceeding cheap. It probably deserves another go now that I'm almost fully recovered from the incident in "Small World". That took a lot of therapy, but I'm feeling much better now.

bagoh20 said...

Ok, I'll play. So you have H1B guy and American guy who both want a job. They both have all the expensive benefits and regulatory costs, workman's comp, disability, etc, etc that the employer must pay regardless of which he employs. Both employees pay taxes and must live here with similar costs. H1B guy will do it for considerably less, appreciate the opportunity more, and probably work harder because of it. You will generally always be able to motivate him more, promote him more, reward him more and make him happier because of his lower cost and higher appreciation. Who do want to spend the next 10 - 20 years working with?

Disclaimer: I have never hired an H1B worker, but have hired many immigrants over the years.

chickelit said...

H1B guy will do it for considerably less, appreciate the opportunity more, and probably work harder because of it.

Then business leaders need to be up front and honest and admit that for these reasons alone they are willing to open the doors wider. They don't need to be dishonest and come up with bullshit stories like foreign students are smarter. This does a tremendous disservice to educational professionals (both public and private and STEM in particular). Why educate your existing population if employers are more or less always just going to hire the cheapest and not necessarily the smartest?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Bago - sometimes we, collectively, have to ask ourselves what is the right thing to do for the country. That is my 2 cents.

And I refuse to use free interns -I think that whole scheme is immoral. [and when I say "use interns", I don't mean in the Clintonian sense].

bagoh20 said...

Like most things in business, you try to do a cost/benefit analysis. If they are truly not as smart as American workers, then they are worth less, but if the additional skills of the American workers are not commensurate with the additional value you will get, then it's not worth the extra money. This depends on a lot of factors: do you need the extra skill or is it just wasted? Do you a have business that can make use of it? If even at the higher pay the worker is not really motivated, and will always feel underpaid, just how useful or loyal will they be?

We have to face something: Americans in general are not what they used to be. We are lazier, entitled, victims of an ever increasing number of slights, and becoming anti-business, anti-reason, and constantly in search of easy money, handouts and a lottery win. We used to be the hungry ones, the motivated, the go getters. Many of our people now laugh at that kind of attitude at a time when they need it more than ever.

Conservatives, including many here, often decry exactly these things about our people, but for some reason we forget that when deciding what is fair between management and labor. It's just like the claim about women getting $0.77 on the dollar to men for the same work. If it was true there wouldn't be a man working anywhere. All things being equal, nearly every employer would rather hire Americans, or women, but all things are not. No employer is going to pass up a motivated, hard working American with the right balance of cost/benefit.

The secret to success is always being a great deal to employers, to customers, to spouses, and to yourself. We all forget that from time to time. We get fired, we lose business, we get divorced, or miss out on partner of a lifetime. It's not irreversible, if you act.

bagoh20 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

As for what is best for the country? To have the best people in every way. I think we did at one time, I'm not so sure anymore. Immigrants didn't take that away. For three centuries immigrants created it here. Then their progeny either gave it away, neglected it away, or took it for granted so long it got voted away. "We are the ones we have been waiting for."

chickelit said...

For three centuries immigrants created it here.

We've lived next door to some hemispherical neighbors for centuries. Why the sudden influx? I understand your opinion, bagoh20. But just look at the Disney example. Why not just run on the political platform that the best thing for business is the largest talent pool possible, even if that means erasing political boundaries. Nevermind things like social cohesion, customs, language, cultural, etc. Mix it up as much as possible if mixing up is the best policy.

Why not state the naked policy goal?

bagoh20 said...

I've never been in a position to have an unpaid intern, but regardless of the opportunity it might be for them, that would be something I would just not be comfortable with. It would feel gross. I have myself worked many hours for free, just for the opportunity to show what I could do, and it really paid off. Therefore, if I was in charge back then, I would never have given myself the opportunity that changed my life. Even I'm not the American we used to be. My boss was greedier than I am. Bless his heart.

bagoh20 said...

I think open borders is nuts. Just like your own home would suck if you never let anyone in the house, it would suck even worse if anyone could come in. And our legal system says they can pretty much eat anything in the fridge, rearrange the furniture and sleep, wherever they want once they come in. We made those stupid rules - democratically.

We should be only letting in who we need - when we want. I agree the influx is a problem, but I don't blame the immigrants, I would do the same. I blame the people holding open the door, while they tell our own people to just stay on the couch, watch TV, and have some more Bon Bons, because they're special.

I don't know much about the world of higher skilled people, but at the bottom, employers really don't have much option to pay less than legal wage. It's too dangerous legally and financially. so, when some guy who doesn't speak English and only went to 8th grade is a better deal than you at the same pay, you need to step it up some.

Michael Haz said...

To answer Bago's question: Hire the one with the bigger boobs.

chickelit said...

A prime example of an American business leader with a twisted vision of labor laws is Mark Zuckerberg. Asshole all the way. I am glad I never joined his little club for losers. I do note that some of biggest supporters of FaceBook are Twitter haters. It's Beatles vs. Stones all over again.

bagoh20 said...

I quit facebook years ago, hate the whole spying invasive concept. Twitter is an app that recreates the fun and growth one experiences at a dorm room farting contest, but with letters.

bagoh20 said...

Stones at a party - Beatles everywhere else.

Methadras said...

Open borders is a death of a nation. Period. End of story. It is utter national suicide. Anyone who supports it or wants it is an enemy of the American people.