Another Reason to Not Upgrade to Windows 7

For many, the upgrade question is one that weights heavy. Worries about incompatibilities, whether with hardware or software, are part of the concern, but also the learning curve must be taken into consideration, as Microsoft has made lots of user interface changes.

For others, larger concerns take place. One of them may be cost. The discretionary spending on a new operating system may be the least of your worries, but for many, the larger cost to the economy might be worth contemplation.

As noted in an article in Business Week, Microsoft lobbied the President with pleas for lifting of caps on H-1B visas, and within a very short time, after announcements of profitability in a down economy, laid off a large number of people.

Even as the economy hemorrhages jobs, many employers continue to advocate for fewer restrictions on importing foreign workers to fill specialized jobs. They say that while there’s growing slack in the job market, there are still shortages of people to act as farm hands, nurses, and software engineers.

Not surprisingly, foreign-worker programs are coming under fire in the face of the highest U.S. unemployment rate in 16 years—7.2% in December. One of the critics’ biggest targets is the software giant Microsoft (MSFT).

A longtime advocate for more skilled immigration, Microsoft continues to ask Congress to lift caps on the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers and offer more green cards to foreign-born talent. As recently as Jan. 5, the company posted a policy proposal on President Obama’s transition Web site requesting that the government “remove caps that bar entry into the U.S. by high-skilled immigrants.” Several weeks later, on a Jan. 22 earnings conference call, the company announced plans to eliminate 5,000 jobs in research and development, information technology, marketing, sales, finance, legal, and human resources over the next 18 months, as well as thousands of contract jobs.

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To put it in words that Rush Limbaugh and his followers can understand, “Is that how we do business in America?”

I don’t think it should be.

Microsoft argues that there is a dearth of qualified workers in tech, and wants more workers to visit from other countries, yet relieves approximately 5000 Americans of their jobs. Strangely, I don’t see the Gates Foundation stepping up to help these laid off workers.

Gates wants to be seen as a world class philanthropist and humanitarian. Well, to mangle another person’s witticism - humanity begins at home. Perhaps Microsoft should stop robbing from Peter (its own workers, the American public) to pay Paul (overseas health and educational concerns). Microsoft (especially Gates and Ballmer) wants to play the game as though it must be an ever expanding model of the universe, but in effect it is zero-sum, due to the way they play.

Shame on Microsoft, and shame on anyone who allows this practice to continue.

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