GOP fundraisers

Chris Losinger

http://www.business-standard.com/archives/2003/jan/50310103.016.asp next time you get an automated call urging you to go vote for GWB or other high-placed Republicans, it might just be coming from... India! luckily, my phone company has allowed me the privilege of paying to block such calls. -c

Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey

Fractals

KaRl

Chris Losinger wrote: luckily, my phone company has allowed me the privilege of paying to block such calls It should be a right, not a service IMO. How do these indian companies get your phone number? Isn't it possible to make this number "private" :~ ?

Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop

Chris Losinger

KaЯl wrote: Isn't it possible to make this number "private" ? you can have an unlisted number (not printed in the phone book). but nearly every major financial, clinical or service transaction you make in the US requires that you give your phone number. -c

Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey

Fractals

Ed Gadziemski

nearly every major financial, clinical or service transaction you make in the US requires that you give your phone number Yes, that's why I'm in databases all over the US as 555-555-1234.

Rohit Sinha

What bothers you most? 1) That it's coming from India 2) That it urges you to vote for GWB 3) That it's an unsolicited phone call 4) All of the above I would not ask about 2) or 3), but could you explain why 1) would be more important (or as important) for you than the other two? If it's a call you don't want, does it matter who is calling and from where? Or are you concerned that the fund raising campaign for a particular political party has been outsourced to a place outside the US? I've been noticing an anti-India ( :rolleyes: ) feeling from you lately. Is it because of the job outsourcing thing alone or is there something else? If so, why do you single out India? Jobs are outsourced to many other countries too, I'm sure. China, for example.
Regards,

Rohit Sinha

Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.
- Anonymous

Chris Losinger

first, i'm not anti-india. i have nothing against india. in this instance, i'm a little surprised (though not terribly) that GWB and Co. chose to ship a few dozen call center jobs overseas rather than keep them in the US, especially since these jobs are intended to help him and his cronies get re-elected. you might not know it, but GWB keeps telling the US how great he and his party are for small businesses in the US. so, GWB, put your money where your mouth is. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/madeinusa_030122.html[^] -c

Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey

Fractals

Rohit Sinha

Ah, now I understand. :) And I didn't mean anti-India as in anti India, if you get what I mean, but I was getting the impression that because of the outsourcing of jobs and projects from the us to India and people going to the us on H1B visas etc, some of your feelings were getting directed towards India too. Sorry if I was wrong. :)
Regards,

Rohit Sinha

Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.
- Anonymous

Shog9 0

I worked in a call center for a mail order company at one time... during this period, they were setting up a call center in India, and the trainers coming back were full of stories about the enthusiastic workers, lined up and eager to work - quite a contrast to the mottley group of slackers, stoners, students and mentally ill that manned the phones locally. It wasn't too many months though, before the idea was abandoned. Customers, it seems, like to be able to understand what the rep on the other end of the phone is saying. And the reps *need* to understand what the caller is saying. But who coulda guessed that an Indian accent wouldn't fly with Southerners looking to buy brightly-colored sheets? I take a small amount of pride in this... though any wandering physician may be able to pronounce me brain dead as soon as i pick up the phone, my Midwestern accent will get me through. i swear, i *will* start actually reading these posts... soon...

shog nine

Ever since i heard the voice i thought i had no choice...

David Wulff

Chris Losinger wrote: first, i'm not anti-india. i have nothing against india. That reminds me of this quote by Jeremy Clarkson, a funny (noun: British), motor journalist, which you must read in a totally straight voice... "I don't dislike France. France is a wonderful country, easily one of the nicest in western Europe. Problem is it's full of French people." :laugh: (probably not a direct quote as I couldn't find it online)

David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk "I'm waiting for Big Brother III" - JoeSox losing his credibility

h.a.s: 5.0.0

KaRl

"Messieurs les Anglais, tirez les premiers!" With friends like that we don't need enemy :rolleyes:

Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop

Chris Losinger

Rohit Sinha wrote: was getting the impression that because of the outsourcing of jobs and projects from the us to India and people going to the us on H1B visas etc, some of your feelings were getting directed towards India too. that's a totally separate issue. the fact that it's india getting these telemarketing jobs is mere coincidence. i'd have felt the same if GWB was shipping these jobs to any other country. -c

Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. --Thomas Cardinal Wolsey

Fractals

Rohit Sinha

Chris Losinger wrote: i'd have felt the same if GWB was shipping these jobs to any other country. Yeah, I got that from your previous reply.
Regards,

Rohit Sinha

Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.
- Anonymous

Ed Gadziemski

There are 1.5 million US citizens unemployed, including 1 million programmers. All H1B visa holders should be sent home, regardless of country, until all citizens are re-employed.

Rohit Sinha

While I agree with your concerns, I don't think it would be good for the companies employing these immigrants to send them back immediately. Imagine if all of these people were to leave suddenly. All the work currently being done by these people would come to a halt. And in a quest to fill the now vacant positions, companies would have to bring out ads, and since every company would be doing so, people will switch companies like mad in order to command higher salaries (btw this would be good for the programmers). Many companies will have to settle for average skilled people just to be able to fill the positions and get something done. Many people who are out of job, or who would find a job in a totally different environment that they are in now, would need some kind of training. This takes time. So yes, while I agree that something should be done about it, I think it should be done slowly in stages, so as not to hurt the companies. Or give them enough time so that they can make their arrangements. And one more thing. I don't think that the number of H1B visa holders is so much as to actually be able to affect employment rates. I could be wrong though, of course. Unemployment happens because the number, type and location of jobs do not match the number, type and location of skilled people. In the past, demand for IT work has increased a lot. The number of programmers has also increased. So have the number of projects being outsourced to other countries and the number of H1B visa holders. If you take all these numbers into consideration, you will find that the biggest cause of unemployment among the US programmers is not the H1B visa holders, not the projects that are outsourced, but the huge increase in the number of new programmers that are being produced every year in the US. It is cheaper to hire a student who has just completed his/her studies than to hire an experienced person. And this helps in bringing down the salary of the H1B visa holders too. Of course, the other two factors I mentioned also have an effect, but not as much. And then don't forget that the current state of the economy is not too friendly either. But I don't have any figures to back myself, only the analysis I presented above, so take this with a pillar of salt. Standard disclaimer applies. :)
Regards,

Rohit Sinha

Character

Ed Gadziemski

Over 1 million H1B workers in the US according to this website: http://www.h1b.info[^] Surely some of the 1 million US citizen programmers unemployed are qualified to fill the positions held by the 1 million H1B visa holders.

Rohit Sinha

Ed Gadziemski wrote: Surely some of the 1 million US citizen programmers unemployed are qualified to fill the positions held by the 1 million H1B visa holders. Definitely. But some of these people will need to move, some of these will have to change or expand their skill sets a bit, some of them will have to settle for a bit lower salaries than they are expecting. I am not saying for a moment that the H1B people are not affecting things at all. What I am saying is that the effect is less than what people believe.
Regards,

Rohit Sinha

Character is like a tree, and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.
- Anonymous