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Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by epistasis on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @12:50PM (#14849359)
This seems like a fairly unproductive way to make your point, because I can only guess what you mean.

What I think you mean is that you can be against increased margins for corporations, and that's the reason that you're against immigration.

It's a strange strange thing to be against increased margins for corporations, without any other explanation, so I can see why many people would be confused, if that's what you're trying to say.

Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by tomc1985 on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @01:04PM (#14849538)
You're focusing on the wrong part. Increased margins for corporations at the cost of engineer pay. Companies don't need their margins nearly as much as individuals need a higher salary.
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by epistasis on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @01:17PM (#14849700)
If that's true then his comment was even less productive than I thought. The commenter didn't even mention the "part" you think I should focus on.
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by bluthru on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @04:11PM (#14851442)
That's what I was implying. Corporations can exploit a social issue to drive down labor costs.
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by baddox on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @01:47PM (#14850072)
Still, I find it odd to argue that engineer pay is among the top priorities of a well-functioning economy. I'm an engineer, and all else being equal I'll take more money (it has its uses), but I certainly couldn't say with a straight face that my country's immigration policy should be based significantly on its effect on my salary.
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by tomc1985 on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @02:27PM (#14850503)
Why not? Wage competition is a legitimate byproduct of increased immigration
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by bluthru on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @03:51PM (#14851281)
Why shouldn't a nation protect its citizens' wages?
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by baddox on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @04:26PM (#14851548)
Because it's bad for consumers, innovation, and the overall economy.
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by bluthru on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @11:26PM (#14853472)
"The overall economy" isn't as important as wages and purchasing power for individuals.

Immigration can lead to less competition and therefore innovation. Instead of people from other countries creating services that compete, they get absorbed by multinationals.

Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by baddox on Wednesday July 26, 2017 @01:19PM (#14858157)
I don't see how higher wages for engineers will lead to more innovation. Can you explain that?
Re:42% of California’s STEM Workforce Hails from Outside the... by Bartweiss on Tuesday July 25, 2017 @01:59PM (#14850201)
> It's a strange strange thing to be against increased margins for corporations

Is it? I know a lot of leftists who consider corporate profit margins something to intrinsically oppose. I mean, they're concerned about the consequences of those margins, but they do think the consequences are inescapable - they think rising corporate margins inherently make the world a worse place.

And yeah, that's historically driven an anti-immigration streak among labor movements, made stronger when it's not about new citizens but people operating under alternate labor laws. The deBoer type leftists of today don't carry that xenophobia, but some of them definitely still complain about H1B as a corporate subsidy.

It's not a position I endorse (if anything, I'd argue for "strengthen the bargaining position of H1B workers"), but I don't think it's terribly uncommon. I agree that the comment framing is inflammatory and unnecessary, but I wasn't surprised by the part about margins.