I'm sure that this was dug up by one of those losers at Programmers Guild.

Motherfucker, you can't even Google, can you?

Yes. But that was before the financial meltdown. If they go to the Senate this year and ask for an increase in H-1B visas, your point would be valid. Context is important.

Also, why do you assume that the 5000 workers that Microsoft is going to layoff are all tech workers with homogeneous skills?

Adding to what you wrote, across the board tax cuts do not really help people in lower income groups. The popular theory propagated by the Pubs is that it stimulates growth which is partially true, but it also results in inflation which wipes out the advantage of getting an extra hundred dollars in your paycheck for low/middle class workers.

This is exactly what the Bush tax cuts have achieved. Education is the most important factor that keeps income inequality in check and allows future generations of low/middle class families to catch up with rich kids. The cost of college education has soared to an extent where only the rich can send their kids to the top schools, irrespective of merit. The U.S. used to be such a great country because there was some balance between capitalism and socialism. The extreme forms of both have proved to be unworkable. In the past 8 years the balance has tilted firmly in favor of capitalism. If the basic framework of an economy is weak, how can it support long-term growth? If healthcare costs soar to an extent where it's not possible for small businesses to afford it, most people will be afraid to leave their jobs in big firms to form startups.