I have a different perspective. Sure, we want talent in our country. Let’s set aside that H-1B is an abusive program only a half-step away from indentured servitude. Can we agree that we actually want all nations’ citizens to be healthy, well-educated, and high functioning? If we can agree on that point, we should work to enable and empower those workers in their home countries.

This obviously requires other factors: penalties for offshoring, compulsory unions, strong unions, limiting corporate power, strong environmental protection… And while I’m dreaming, I still want an RC car for Xmas.

But seriously, brain drain is real. And pulling talent from other countries is just colonization on a smaller scale, but with serious impacts for both countries involved. If US corporations can’t compete without importing talent, all while refusing to invest in our citizens, they deserve to be consigned to the scrapheap.

You need some acid to balance out that savory

Followed your instructions and now everything is melting, iridescent, and swirling.

A huge factor is occupancy rates, which directly affect commercial real estate values which in turn affect interest rates on the loans for a given property. Commercial real estate loans are reevaluated every ten years and a low occupancy rate results in higher interest rates because the property is determined to be lower value. For example, Amazon is pushing RTO so hard because the South Lake Union properties are coming up on their ten year mark. Even a tiny increase in interest rate would result in (IIRC) billions in interest payments over the next ten years. Corporations are willing to risk the unknown labor/skills carnage than face the known interest payments carnage.

The other factors are getting people to quit so that unemployment/severance don’t need to be paid and managers with control issues. It’s all contemptible, but that’s what’s going on there.

As an aside, I work in software. Even in compliance-intensive environments (think: auditing, national security), some forward-looking multinational corps are going remote-only. And the really nimble players are remote-first. They get their pick of top talent at lower pay rates. I gladly take ~50% less to work from wherever I want on a flexible schedule without ever sitting in traffic. I think we’re going to see a shakeup in the top ten companies because new entrants are going to get superlative talent.

The “consequences” for those involved in the Mỹ Lai Massacre (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_massacre) paints a different picture.

That said, I have some close friends in the military, including one who is a Military Defense Counsel. Enforcement, when it happens, is quite strict.

That seems kind of harsh. I’d totally accept falling on his own sword, maybe seppuku.

It came from a speaker a few years ago at the Davos World Economic Forum. Davos is where the ultra rich gather each year to plot out how to be even more evil.