Information Week Editor Hits a Foul Ball

May 14, 2009 – 6:17 pm

Three Strikes And You’re Out, Mr. Preston

Rob Preston, VP and Editor in Chief of Information Week, wrote an editorial piece titled “Down To Business: What If Major League Baseball Had H-1B Caps?” (Posted online May 9, 2009 12:00 AM. From the May 11, 2009 issue).

In his article, Mr. Preston attempts to refute the argument that “U.S. tech employers are just trying to flood the market with cheap labor” by importing young, entry-level, foreign tech workers and displacing American citizens who are often older, more experienced and more expensive.

Mr. Preston’s reasoning is so far off base you would need binoculars to find the logic. But don’t take my word for it. First, read the article and then read the comments from readers. As of May 14, readers left twenty-four printable, on-line comments. I suspect many more had to be deleted for indecent content. The first twenty-three comments ripped Mr. Preston every which way from Sunday. Finally, on May 14, one lone reader named “Guest” - possibly Mr. Preston’s secretary - posted a single, brief, positive comment.

I have never before read such a unified and reasoned backlash to such blatantly stupid reporting. If only Mr. Preston had thoroughly investigated the subject of H-1B visa abuse. Instead, he allowed himself to be overcome by a silly, and utterly irrelevant, baseball metaphor. Three strikes and you’re out, Mr. Preston. It’s back to the dugout for you.

If you doubt that US companies systematically use the H-1B visa to promote age discrimination and depress wages, I recommend that you visit Professor Norm Matloff’s H-1B and Offshoring Web Page. You can subscribe to Dr. Matloff’s e-newsletter by writing him at matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu.  Dr. Matloff is a statistician and computer sciences professor at the University of California at Davis. His analysis of the data on H-1B usage is impeccable and beyond criticism. His critiques of media coverage and industry shenanigans are always insightful and illuminating.

James R. Ziegler, Ph.D.