'..."years and years" to fix economy' - Geithner

[WhiskeyGirl]

" Europe needs "years and years" to fix economy: Geithner "

I wonder what his forecast for the US is?  Decades?  Hundreds of years to pay off the debt?

"Europe has a very hard road ahead of them," Geithner told a meeting with business leaders during a visit to New Delhi.

However, Geithner said he was "relatively confident" that Washington could manage the challenges presented by tax rises and mandatory government spending cuts - the so-called "fiscal cliff" - due to hit early next year unless the U.S. Congress agrees to cancel or delay them.

"We have a series of fiscal policy decisions to make at the end of this year that are going to be important to design carefully to avoid adding to the pressures on the U.S. economy. I am relatively confident that we will manage those carefully," he said.

He sounded a cautiously upbeat note on the U.S. economy, saying it was growing at close to potential and was in a stronger position than any other major developed economy.

Yes, design them carefully, like the CRA, GM/Chrysler bailout, Fanny/Freddie, and QE1,2,3...

read more here - http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/us-india-usa-economy-idINBRE8980O120121009

India's GDP is growing at greater than 6% a year...

[WhiskeyGirl]

New Delhi, Oct. 9:

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner expects an increase in the number of visas granted to Indians.

Though he did not give any details, the statement could be a boost to Indian information technology companies seeking more H-1 B work visas, an issue the industry has been trying to resolve.

On the fear that outsourcing and jobs for non-US citizens may shrink after the Presidential elections in the US, Geithner said, “We expect significant increase in the visas.”

What about jobs for Americans?  That woman who gave Obama her husbands IT resume?  Did he get a job?

“There can be two interpretations: one, there could be an option to increase the cap of 65,000 visas in a year, which could be filled up in the next two-three months (before the year ends)...

Geithner has supported issuing more visas to Indians since last year under the H-1B visa programme, which is offered to highly skilled professionals and students to live and work in the US. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at a meeting with External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna in New York, had said the US was going for a broader review of its visa regime, but it would have to await the outcome of the Presidential election next month.

Higher fees

The US had raised the H-1B visa fee to $2,000 per application and L1 to $2,700 per visa application to fund its enhanced costs on securing its border with Mexico under the Border Security Act.

Anyone see the border with Mexico being secured? 

Unlimited immigration by highly educated foreigners?

I wonder if the 'immigrants' that got jobs due to Obamanomics are visa holders?

read more here - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3981700.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

After four years one would think Obama's OWS folks would have been retrained now and there would be no need to import any talent.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Every year, the Indian IT industry incurs an expense of $1.2 billion ( Rs 6,200 crore) because companies have to contribute to US social security on behalf of Indian employees working there.

However, to take advantage of the benefits, these employees have to be resident in the US for at least 10 years, which rarely happens.

A 'totalisation agreement' would make it possible for companies to pay social security in India instead of in the US, thus making it possible for employees to take advantage of it when they return home. "It would ease the burden on the IT industry to a great extent, especially at a time companies are under pressure on multiple fronts," said V Balakrishnan, chief financial officer at Bangalore-based Infosys, India's second-largest software exporter.

Despite the mandatory provident fund and pension contributions that Indian employers are required to make, the US has refused to accept that India has a comparable social security scheme. The issue has been under negotiations for close to a decade even though India has similar agreements with about 24 countries, including many European nations. "If the US has concerns, we are happy to work with them to make this possible. But if one side refuses to talk about it, then our ability to negotiate is limited," said Ameet Nivsarkar, vice-president at the National Association of Software & Services Companies (Nasscom).

from the comments -

Begging begging begging, We Hindus are always begging. As the saying goes .... the Christians are born to Rule, the Muslim are born to fight and the Hindus are born to be slaves. No matter how we cover up our short comings .... The Fact remains. Period.

read more here - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Issues-faced-by-Indian-IT-companies-in-US/articleshow/16721644.cms

The odd thing?  This article and a few others talk about 8%.  The same I think that US employers have to pay.  What of the employee contribution?  Do they contribute nothing?  That is my understanding.

So, they can retire and collect SS here after just an 8% contribution?  In the US, the employer and employee contribution is about 15%.

Who is getting ripped off?

More reasons to employ Americans.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

Something to think about -

unemployed in Detriot (Detroit) replies to GC
09 Oct, 2012 02:41 AM

A lie since most places that do IT in the US have fired Americans and replaced them with Indians. They just want to grab everything and completely eliminate American involvement in its own economy while Indians with fake resumes and qualifications take whatever is left. The $1.2 billion that is mentioned is a complete fantasy. If an Indian pushed an American out of a job using a fake resume then that Indian committed fraud and broke the law. If you break the law then you do not have legal right to wages and totalization agreements.

Prabhakar (mumbai) replies to unemployed in Detriot
09 Oct, 2012 04:43 AM
unemployed in Detroit, you are stupid!!! Indians succeed any way that they can. If that means faking resumes and fraud, then so be it. Who are you to blame us for doing whatever underhanded technique we want to get what we want. You are the looser, not us!!!

Sounds like the folks that encouraged liar loans, no documents needed loans, CRA...

akash (Delhi) replies to unemployed in Detriot
09 Oct, 2012 03:18 AM
lets believe for a minute what you are saying, that an indian managed to push an American out of job with his fake resume. But that does not explain how that incompetent indian was able to sustain his job AND the american got pushed out was not able to find another job with his so authentic resume and skillset ??... you know what?..you my friend are the part of that lost generation of USofA!!..and the very reason why USA went down the hole taking rest of the world with it..

read more here - http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-08/news/34323004_1_social-security-indian-professionals-indian-industry

[WhiskeyGirl]

Microsoft has urged the US Government to issue 20,000 additional H-1B visas to foreign workers with skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

...

The software giant has proposed that the companies that use the H-1B visas from this supplementary pool should pay $10,000 for each employee who gets the visa, while green card approval will entail a fee of $15,000.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's General Counsel and Executive Vice-President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, has proposed this plan as a long-term strategy wherein the money generated by issuing the additional visas can be utilised to fund higher education for Americans.

What happened to securing the border with Mexico?

read more here - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/article3949168.ece?homepage=true

[WhiskeyGirl]

Millions of Americans unemployed and they can't find 20,000? 

[WhiskeyGirl]

“The idea that you prop up people who are bankrupt is what Japan did. Japan had two lost decades, America will have a few lost decades,” Rogers, co-founder with George Soros of the Quantum Fund, told Emerging Markets in an interview.

The US government should balance the budget rather than pile on fresh debt to deal with its problems, but it won’t, Rogers said.

“They want to be elected,” he said. “They all believe in the tooth fairy. All these guys believe the tooth fairy will bail them out.”

read more here - http://www.emergingmarkets.org/Article/3100657/America-faces-a-few-lost-decades-Jim-Rogers.html

The more I hear about secession, the more it sounds like the only answer. 

Another popular option is for states to divide themselves into smaller pieces.  Disconnect the rural and suburban areas from the large urban centers of poverty and population.  They won't increase the number of representatives in the House, but they will get two senators.  A check and balance restored.

jmho