Not racism. I was describing the fact that compared to the USA, the places that a lot of these folks come from are much worse places to live, which is part of the reason they come here on H1-Bs.

And I'm not sure where you are working, but SW engineering salaries have quite literally exploded over the past 5 years or so. It's not at all uncommon to see $400-500k+ offers (including benefits) these days

Bullshit.

Will they go out of business if you leave? Will they suddenly be unable to see a doctor, or pay the mortgage, or be unable to find work due to the fact that they were fired or are currently unemployed?

It's good planning on your part to have a cushion built up. But most people are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and are at most 3 or 4 paychecks away from bankruptcy. Your employer has a much greater ability to trash your entire lifestyle than you do to take the business down (especially if you no longer work there). You'll be buried in legal paper if you try.

When you allow them to act soley in their best interests, the world falls apart, because people are stupid selfish greedy short-sighted morons that would just as soon everyone else died so that they can get what they want. What people think is in their own self-interest is actually working against them, because they think that others must stop getting what is in THEIR self interest in order to get what they want. You get a race to the bottom where the only thing that happens is society is destroyed.

If they're on food stamps, they're obviously immoral horrible evil people and should all just die. At least that's what one side of the aisle would like you to think.

The companies that complain they can't hire the talent they need are really saying that hiring the talent they need would eat into the profits.

FTFY. Corporate profits are at all-time highs, companies are sitting on piles of cash that they COULD spend on salaries to ensure they attract top talent, but they'd rather spend it on lobbying for more H1-B visas.

Again, as has been covered on /. extensively, there is no shortage of American STEM graduates. Employers would rather bring over H1-Bs from Thirdworldhellholistan that they can pay 50% as much and work 100% harder. When you're not a citizen, and can be sent back pretty much at any time, you do what you're told instead of asking to be treated like a human being. Employers love that. They identify an H1-B that they can bring over, tailor the skill set for the job requirement such that that specific H1-B holder is the only one on the planet that has it, and then cry about not being able to find a native worker with that set.

At-will means two things:

1) They can fire you with no notice and no reason at any time.
2) You can quit and walk out with no notice and no stated reason at any time.

On paper, that seems fair. However, it's tilted in the employer's favor because most of the time losing a job is much worse for the employee than it is for the employer.

I'm a salesperson and I am about to get this 5-6 figure comission. You dismiss me with no cause or a bogus one. I can still turn around and sue you for wrongful termination.

That's a little different. In that case your commission would be unpaid wages, and the DOL would be able to get involved.

Most of the time, though, their lawyers can beat up your lawyers.

Sure, they write the checks. But it's the lower classes that do the actual work. Which would be fine, if the lower classes shared in any success the company had.

"Hey, I just created $x that's going to make us a billion dollars!"
"Attaboy!"

That's it. The rich get richer off the hard work of other people.

I don't know about you, but I couldn't make ends meet for long on unemployment payments. They can also make your life difficult by fighting the claim and making shit up out of whole cloth at the hearing.

That works for European employers, it's much harder to fire someone in general than it is in the USA.

When a manager finds out someone is leaving, one of the following happens:

1) They're fired on the spot and escorted from the building;
2) The manager tries to guilt them into staying;
3) A pathetic counter-offer is made (nevermind that the reasons for leaving may not have anything to do with compensation);
4) A significant counter-offer is made (usually intended to keep the worker there just long enough to hire a replacement).

Occasionally what you describe happens. It's rare in my experience. Look at it from the employer's point of view; to this point in the employee's time there, they have been able to do pretty much whatever they want w/r/t the worker. No binding job descriptions, arbitrary re-assignment, (for exempt employees) forcing them to work 60, 70, 80 hour weeks with no extra pay, making them do the work of three people for a single salary, etc etc etc. The playing field is heavily tilted in their favor. So, it comes as a shock and an insult when the employee exercises the one right that US workers really have: They can quit. How DARE they! Don't they know that the company will only make 6 bazillion dollars instead of 6.5 if they leave? WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE SHAREHOLDERS!

The list is endless. Most people are stupid, lack self control and any kind of prudence so we implement controls which address the lowest common denominator, occasionally allowing some people to jump through hoops to obtain slightly more access to something, but often with another set of draconian controls applied.

FTFY.

2000 wasn't about voter fraud, it was about terrible ballots and the closeness of Florida's result. SCOTUS put him in office. Actual voter fraud (where you're ineligible to vote and vote anyway) is what is the rounding error.

Oh, so now since I don't believe in libertarianism/objectivism/whatever, I'm part of the problem? Don't tell me what to think.

They can all jump into a volcano, as far as I'm concerned.

Educate me, then. And try to keep Rand out of it.