Mother, mother, mother - there's too many of you crying.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

The idea here is to let an individual have an "opportunity" to have a captive laborer, someone whose visa depends on their work relationship, who will owe costs if terminated by their employer, whose living space is controlled by the employer, and who is exempt from the most basic worker protection, minimum wage. This is all about creating an institutional framework for exploitation.

I don't think that's what the authors say:

While the program might seem crazy at first, it would not be that different from the existing H1-B program, except that individuals like Mary rather than corporations like Google and Exxon would sponsor the workers. Second, the program is not that different from the au pair program run by the State Department, nominally under the J-1 cultural exchange visa program, but in reality a nanny migrant-labor program used by upper-middle class American families.

What if we just extend H1-B visas to the sorts of parties he's talking about?

The au pair program is a one year sojourn. There is exploitation in the program - we used it for several years and saw some horrid things happne among some of our au pairs' friends (including one family who very strictly limited their au pair's food, for example, and more than one case where there was sexual harassment). The program needs reform, not expansion, but is also a very temporary status.

OK.