Tenchu's Thoughts - Random Thoughts on H-1B Visas
In no particular order:
- Vivek and the Muskperger are coming out in support of H-1B visas, and Trump seems to be agreeing with them. That's good news for me personally.
- However, my fears over what MAGA would do to H-1B visas were justified given the incredible amount of backlash Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy are getting from their core supporters.
- I also noticed how the political left, after being heavily in favor of immigration, suddenly became anti-immigration hawks when it came to H-1B. Another case of "If Brandon/Harris is for it, I'm for it, but now that Trump is for it, I'm against it."
- One thing that Musk is doing is highlighting the worst aspects of H-1B visa abuse. Firing 75% of Twitter's staff and retaining only the H-1B visa holders is a clear example. It makes the whole program look like a way for rich people to exploit "cheap labor" at the cost of rEaL aMeRiCaN jObS.
- Let me say this: The level of H-1B visa abuse is WAY overstated by BOTH sides of the political spectrum. I for one don't rely on H-1B visas simply because I want to get away with offering lower compensation. Instead, I rely on them because otherwise I would have a MUCH smaller pool of candidates with the specific skill sets I require. And it's the same way with most other people I know who are hiring in the hardware sector. (I don't know as much on the software side, except the SW positions that directly support HW or server integration, but I imagine it's a similar story.)
- I loved how Ramaswamy basically called rEaL aMeRiCaNs "lazy." I bet that went over REALLY well within the ultra-nationalist MAGA types.
- The debate over H-1B visas has been around for several decades now. That should have been more than enough time to vastly improve our STEM education. That should have been more than enough time to educate the children of 2005 and have them become capable engineers in 2025. If anything, this shows a complete failure of the Department of Education, which should have highlighted this perpetual shortage of engineers and prioritized STEM education for everyone. Instead, they focused too much on DEI, IMO.
- By the way, "fixing" it by eliminating the DoE isn't going to work. All that will do is maybe trim the federal deficit by 13%, which is fine, but it also signals a complete retreat by the federal government from the issue at hand. We'll have to make up for the shortfall by issuing even more H-1B visas.
- One more thing. According to Google, the average salary of an H-1B visa holder is $168K/year. Remember this the next time any MAGA zealot or left-wing handwringer portrays H-1B immigrants as "literal slaves."
Tenchusatsu |
