06.24.09
Microsoft Betrays American Workers and Rewards Irish Workers for Tax Haven
Summary: Microsoft discriminates against Americans who work in the United States, their home country
Microsoft’s abolishment of American employees goes back to the company's affairs with Abramoff, who is now in prison. It never really ended. Steve Ballmer blackmailed Obama earlier this month in order to justify reduction in expenses, which comes at the expense of the American worker. Microsoft already moves it workforce abroad to "cheaper" pools of workforce. Now it gets even worse, even domestically.
Bill gives in-state tuition to foreign professionals, families in Washington on visa
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The measure passed amid a roiling budget crisis and hundreds of millions of dollars in cutbacks to higher education. It was nicknamed the “Microsoft subsidy bill” by some lawmakers who say the software giant and its workers surely could afford to pay the higher tuition rates.
The Seattle Times has welcomed no less than 506 comments. People are outraged. To quote just the latest comment, “As a laid off Microsoft employee displaced by guest workers, I am outraged that the State of Washington legislature could pass special interest legislation that only benefits Microsoft and their guest workers’ families.”
The pro-Microsoft blog at the Seattle P-I mentioned this article too and the responses are similar.
Will in Seattle writes: “So if my brother, an American citizen by birth, moves here from Cali he has to wait three years for him and his daughters to get in-state tuition – but an H1-B visa holder from India gets in-state tuition in one year?
“Sorry, that is just plain WRONG.”
A reply says: “Will, the whole H-1B program is wrong. This is just the latest wrinkle.”
“Some time ago we showed that Microsoft was actually hiring in Ireland.”Anonymous commenter adds: “I say down with Microsoft. They are the real evil empire. They produce poor software, have bloated management and since they can’t compete with real companies, they have to hope for hand outs from taxpayers to pay for college tuition for people who will be replacing our citizens with cheaper labor. I thought the Banks were bad but Microsoft takes the cake. They already take advantage of tax loopholes to hide tax revenue overseas and they expect people in the state of Washington to kiss their butts. I don’t see Google, Boeing, or Paccar benefiting anywhere what Microsoft is getting.”
Some time ago we showed that Microsoft was actually hiring in Ireland (amid worldwide layoffs). Microsoft enjoys a special relationship with Ireland because that’s where its massive tax evasion takes place (or gets centralised). Microsoft says that “Ireland is ICT laggard” in the following new article, on which our reader remarks: “When you are in a ICT tax evasion paradise, you want it to become an ICT public investment paradise too.”
To quote a few fragments from this article:
Despite the large technology industry assembled here, Rellis says it is regrettable that Ireland is lagging behind on a range of fronts, from broadband to the use of ICT in education. “We have looked at Ireland and every other country in Europe in terms of technology and Ireland is a laggard. Now, I could be upset about that and say this is an awful criticism of the country but the power of being a laggard is that you can leapfrog over all the other countries if you have a digital strategy.”
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Microsoft, in particular, has been active through its Bizspark programme, which equips tech start-ups with the latest technologies and licen-ses its IP to them. An example of the latter is Dublin comp-any Inistech, which, through the Microsoft IP Ventures Programme and Enterprise Ireland, has relaunched Microsoft’s Software Licensing and Protection (SLP) Services.
For the reality behind BizSpark, see:
- Poor Microsoft Gives Poor Software to Youngsters, Hoping to Remain Relevant
- Microsoft’s Anti-Linux Dumping Crusade: Chapter 11.1
- Microsoft Tries to Fight Libre with Gratis
- An Open, Gentler Microsoft: The Best Illusion Only Novell Can Buy
- Microsoft’s Last Breath: BAD (Bribing, Addicting, Dumping)
- Microsoft’s B.A.D. (Bribing, Addicting, Dumping) Comes to the Philippines
- Down with Microsoft… in India (Updated)
- Microsoft Takes Dumping Tactics up a Notch
- The EDGIfication of the Philippines
We also remarked on the Licensing and Protection move about a week ago [1, 2]. Software patents could be part of it and speaking of which, Irishman Charlie McCreevy, a promoter of software patents in Europe [1, 2, 3] is likely to be replaced by another pro-Microsoft guy, according to the FFII. We wrote about it a fortnight ago. █
“Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won’t leave you alone.”
–Richard Stallman
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David "Lefty" Schlesinger said,
June 24, 2009 at 9:03 am
Roy, this is simply nuts. Are you laboring under the incredible misapprehension that this situation is unique to Microsoft in any way at all? Apple, to give just one example, has extensive QA facilities in Ireland for the same reasons: Ireland offers substantial tax benefits to companies, particularly technology companies, who build facilities there.
Moreover, global organizations shift hiring to other geographies all the time. Maybe you’d prefer that “American companies” like Apple, etc. hire no one in, say, the UK, but i’m not sure that your gainfully employed compatriots would agree…
aeshna23 said,
June 24, 2009 at 9:06 am
This type of issue just outrages me. Some people on the left wing of the Democratic Party actually think it is a good idea to provide health care to illegal immigrants if Obama gets his health care plan passed. And the United States is already tremendously in debt! I’m sure the same people are fine with this Microsoft subsidy. It’s never occurred to these people that taxpayers have to pay for government handouts.