Real problem, wrong solution
There are apparently differences in the expectations of those in the new Trump administration who oppose immigration. Some like Laura Loomer, influencer at-large, expected that all immigration would be curtailed and undocumented immigrants expelled.
Others, like Elon Musk and everybody else in the world of high-tech industries, didn’t think the ban would include people who worked for them. These are known as “special skills” jobs, and apparently not enough American workers have the “special skills” needed by the tech industry.
Currently some 85,000 positions are opened every year to applicants for H-1B “specialty occupation” visas. Since the visas can be held for a maximum of six years it would seem that that would allow for about 500,000 holders of the visas working in America at any given time. If they are married, their spouses can work here legally, too. Some firms that have a high number of H-1B visa holders are: Amazon, 13,205; Microsoft, 7,819; and Apple, 4,088.
Elon Musk, world’s richest man and immigrant from South Africa favors this program because, as he recently posted on X, “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.”
Vivek Ramaswami, newly appointed co-chair (with Musk) of the government efficiency committee chipped in his two cents saying, “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,”
They seem to be selling Americans short, but then I’m no expert, just an American.
But I can tell you why Indian tech workers are motivated. They get paid way more in the U.S. than they do for the same job in India. But then of course we have to factor in that the cost of living is way higher in the U.S. than India.
Take housing costs, for instance. In Silicon Valley (on the San Francisco peninsula) a one-bedroom apartment goes for around $3,000. Would it be rude to point out that the huge increase in housing costs there is caused by … the tech industry!
Here’s an interesting dynamic. Housing costs will go up because Silicon Valley is teeming with H-1B immigrants, but just next door, in the Salinas and Central valleys of California there will be fewer immigrant workers because undocumented immigrants will be deported. This means fewer people to pick the crops in America’s grocery growing regions. Fewer workers means higher wages which means increased grocery bills at the check-out counter.
Of course, that could be solved if enough American citizens became, to use Musk’s term, “super-motivated” to go out in the 100 degree sunshine to pick vegetables for an average wage of $14-$15 an hour.
The problem with simplifying a political problem so that even an un-super motivated American voter can understand it is that at some point after the election things have to be explained a little more. (Oh, we didn’t mean THOSE immigrants, we meant the BAD ones. Better get a scorecard to keep up.)
Democrats, on the other hand, like to campaign by explaining everything in such detail that even super motivated voters fall asleep, then after the elections, the Democrats have to sort of simplify it so that regular people can understand why they didn’t vote Democrat.
Do I have a point to make here? Yes, and my point would be that nothing is simple and if you think whatever problems we have can be fixed with simple, easily understandable solutions you will be very frustrated. Simple, easily understandable solutions are for winning elections and not much else. They are tailored to engage the average voter and of necessity lack the amount of detail because that would instead disengage the average voter.
“Democracy,” said H. L. Mencken, known as the Sage of Baltimore in the 1930s, “is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.”
He also said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.”
Jim Elliott served 16 years in the Montana Legislature as a state representative and state senator. He lives on his ranch in Trout Creek.