Roundup
(1) Biden met with Hunter’s Chinese business associates, and it’s being treated as news – at least by media on the right, although I really think we already knew this. On the left, as far as I can see, it’s being pretty much ignored.
(2) The MSM is happy to report that there’s a “feud” or a “war” between DOGE and MAGA on the subject of H-1B visas. There’s certainly a heated disagreement:
-President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters.
Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to “war” to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers.
Trump, who moved to limit the visas’ use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he was quoted as saying.
Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and his electric-car company Tesla obtained 724 of the visas this year. H-1B visas are typically for three-year periods, though holders can extend them or apply for green cards.
(3) Another person on fire in NYC, this time in Grand Central Station. This time the person was burned but is still alive. In this case, the man is believed to have set himself on fire.
(4) Meanwhile, the illegal alien who is believed to be the person who set a woman on fire in the NYC subway has been indicted for her death.
A couple of weeks ago, WSJ included Marcia Davenport’s novel The Valley of Decision in a roundup of books about family business. I reviewed this book, and the movie that it inspired (starring Greer Garson and Gregory Peck), last year–review now reposted.
The book/movie could be subtitled An Industrial Romance, and should be enjoying some renewed attention in our time when the importance of manufacturing is receiving increased focus. Book and movie are both excellent.
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/72764.html
The H-1B tempest feels like an opposition project, and is certainly being pushed by the opposition by throwing gas on the fire.
I have a nuanced position regarding the H-1B visa. They make sense as a tool for going after that top .01%, but beyond that the program is rife with fraud. As a consular officer in London I adjudicated many H-1Bs, 98% were Indians living in the UK, and our fraud department determined that nearly all were either fraudulent or were for less-skilled jobs. Absolutely NOT Elon Musk’s supposed .01%.
Trump praises the program now, saying he has employed H-1Bs. Considering his business, I find it very difficult to believe his businesses ever hired an H-1B applicant for any reason other than to lower labor cost. This is an area where Trump has always annoyed me.
The H-1B visa does well-serve the nation, and I believe we should keep it, but reforming it and attacking its rampant fraud well-serves the nation, too. There’s no reason we can’t do both.
Telemachus…”The H-1B tempest feels like an opposition project, and is certainly being pushed by the opposition by throwing gas on the fire” I’m sure the opposition is happy to benefit by this dispute, but I don’t think they originated it. I’ve been following the discussion at X pretty closely, and I think there’s a lot of genuine opinion/emotion on both (all) sides.
David Foster @ 6:53
I’ve followed it on X as well, and I agree with you that it’s a genuine issue. President Trump (and his tech bros) needs to understand that he was elected to address not just illegal immigration but also legal immigration that is abused to serve only foreign and corporate interests.
(6) This
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/27/g-s1-40144/syria-israel-relations-hts-damascus-governor
is an extra bit good news, and the Philistines are already freaking out.
As of H-1B — this summary by ESR looks accurate:
https://x.com/esrtweet/status/1872404345003692207
> The H-1B visa does well-serve the nation, and I believe we should keep it, but reforming it and attacking its rampant fraud well-serves the nation, too. There’s no reason we can’t do both.
Abolish it and keep L-1B (intracompany transferee). The burden of proof that the foreign worker is exceptionally valuable, as well as the burden of his or her inculturation, should lie on the company, and shouldn’t be limited to mere paperwork.
> corporate interests
Corporate interests are still American interests. The correct goal statement is “don’t let anyone (not just corporations) nationalize their costs”.
H1Bs are a fraud, top to bottom. Fake degrees from (dot)Indian diploma mills – which are actually what we would call high school vocational schools – hired by temp contract outfits who don’t really have a specific job in hand when they bring in a body, low-skill dog-work jobs in large corporations who don’t want to redesign their design processes to not require these kind of jobs that only make economic sense if you have indentured cheap labor.
Kill the program. There is the very restrictive O1 program to bring in that top 0.1%.
Buddha @ 8:07
Yes, you’re getting to the heart of it. Consular Affairs at the State Dept keeps a file of those diploma mills, and the Dept of Labor is supposed to screen those applicants out before they get to visa window, but during my time that almost never happened. It was left to a very busy adjudicating officer (150 interviews/day with a boss breathing down your neck) ordered to take no more than 2-3 minutes per interview. If one’s refusal rate was too high that officer was “taken to the woodshed.” My interviewing tour in London was during the Obamanation, and there was a certain mindset during that time. And while I still see a benefit to a properly run H-1B program, I agree that the O-1, which needs reform, could serve that role.
LXE @ 7:34
I’m not convinced anymore that corporate interests are still American interests. As for L-1 visas, I’ve adjudicated many of them, and even done L-1 consulting, and I agree that it is a fine program.
‘There was a good movie with Tim Allen based on a Dave Barry book. I watched it at least three times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trouble_(2002_film)
Worth looking up for a Dave Barry comedy experience.
Trump cut back on the H1B visa program in his 1st term. He made political hay out of Disney forcing employees to train their H1B visa replacements. There has been an ongoing abuse of the program by many Silicone Valley companies, but now that Vivek and Elon are running things Trump is singing another tune. And then of course JD’s wife is of Indian descent as is the new FBI director. “C’est la vie.”
As for HB-1 controversy, the opinions expressed above are well founded, I would though draw your attention the MSM’s drop in watching. A Trump presidency is a godsend to them.
Re: H1-B – It’s interesting that Nikki Haley has come down opposite Musk and Ramaswamy and with the more traditional MAGA elements. Realignments make strange bedfellows. And speaking of bedfellows, its is beginning to look as though Trump owes favors to Musk and the “tech bros” that are going to be anathemas to the traditional MAGA faithful.
Coalitions win elections. I’ve been banging that gong for years now. It sure looks to me as though 2024 wasn’t so much about MAGA winning an election on its own as it was about MAGA forming a non-traditional coalition and compromising on different aspects of their agenda. Although the “big business, pro-immigration” wing of the GOP has always been there. And always remember that Trump sells himself as a great deal maker. I guess we’ll see.
(Finally, shame on Musk for responding to criticism by crying “racist.” I have little doubt that a portion of the criticism of Ramaswamy and Musk on social media actually is vile and racist. The Internet is a cesspool. But the main arguments for reforming or even eliminating H1-B are not at all racist and deserve serious consideration. Whether due to calculation, emotional response to the online drek, or some other reason, Musk has chosen to stake out his position with an emotional appeal that focuses on the trolls. This isn’t exactly a straw man because, there almost certainly are racist trolls out there arguing against H1-B visas. It isn’t exactly “nut-picking” because I have little doubt that the trolls are seeking out Musk and Ramaswamy instead of the other way around. It is even somewhat understandable assuming that Musk is experiencing online abuse. But all of that aside, Musk’s strategy absolutely is fallacious sophistry that should have no place in a reasoned debate of public policy. It deserves to be called out as such.)