How much does DEI come in to play with this as well? Brown skin trumps white by those standards. Immigration status probably adds extra points. When college grads have been struggling to find jobs for decades, I think that may also contribute to the workforce aged becoming disenchanted and frustrated. Kick in a little more frustration with 2020 madness and the ongoing histrionics and you have people who are sick, injured, dead and mentally unwell/exhausted.
My two cents is that DEI is, if anything, being used as political cover.
Bear in mind that I am looking at economic data and describing economic forces, and likely economic motivations.
Is there a prejudicial component to those motivations? That's possible, but even so such motivations resolve largely as a desire for cheaper labor. If native labor were cheaper than foreign labor, it seems unlikely that prejudice against native born workers would be sufficient to run counter to the business compulsion to hold down labor costs.
The color most business owners--and virtually all successful business owners--care about most of all is green.
That does not prevent the rubric of DEI and similar presumptively "egalitarian" ideologies from being a convenient justification for what amounts to basic greed. Make profit seem noble and virtuous and business owners will dislocate their shoulder patting themselves on the back.
One thing to note is that the bias against native born workers cuts across all ethnic categories. Something that emerged when I was analyzing these labor patterns with relation to "Bidenomics" a few months back was that minorities in this country were being disadvantaged by these labor patterns as well. That indicates that ethnic or racial prejudice or animus is really not part of the animating impulse here.
If anything, this data indicates why Democrats (and, in particular, Democrat supporters) have shifted from focusing on minorities within this country to importing illegal aliens.
It really isn't the color of the skin that matters here. It's the color of money.
Peter, bravo for posting actual data regarding this issue! I haven’t seen data in anyone else’s stances, and thus have been hesitant to take a pro or con position. I’m such a fan of Elon and Vivek that I’m biased in their favor, but on this H1-B visa, well, are they being biased toward their tech industries? It now appears so. Thanks for setting the matter straight.
You really should be on staff at the White House, Peter.
Elon and Vivek are ultimately businessmen. They are giving the businessman’s perspective—and every businessman wants labor to be cheaper. I’ve run my own business and had to make payroll—I completely understand the business perspective at play here.
But the other perspective—that of the worker—is no less valid. Workers want labor to be pricier. Every person wants their labor to be more valuable.
A free market for labor is where those competing wants get resolved to achieve a presumptively faire market wage.
That is how wages are supposed to be set in a free-market economy, such as the United States claims its economy is.
Using immigration to manipulate the labor supply—and in particular using government regulation to do it—is a corruption of the labor market. That companies are able to do this means we do not have a free market for labor, but one that is very demonstrably tilted against workers. While that might be beneficial to businesses, it is by definition harmful to workers.
I’m not surprised that Elon and Vivek are showing a bias towards business. That’s what business people do. That probably even explains Donald Trump’s support for H1-B visas.
But the policy commitment Donald Trump made was to the American worker. Reining in immigration is a policy commitment that is going to advantage workers over businesses. For workers that is a good thing—it means higher wages. For the economy as a whole that is almost certainly a good thing, because worker wages have stagnated in this country. Most importantly, however, is that it is the promise Donald Trump made.
If the objective of Making America Great Again is to be realized, Donald Trump needs to keep his promises. Eliminating H1-B visas would be a really good step towards keeping promise #1.
How much does DEI come in to play with this as well? Brown skin trumps white by those standards. Immigration status probably adds extra points. When college grads have been struggling to find jobs for decades, I think that may also contribute to the workforce aged becoming disenchanted and frustrated. Kick in a little more frustration with 2020 madness and the ongoing histrionics and you have people who are sick, injured, dead and mentally unwell/exhausted.
My two cents is that DEI is, if anything, being used as political cover.
Bear in mind that I am looking at economic data and describing economic forces, and likely economic motivations.
Is there a prejudicial component to those motivations? That's possible, but even so such motivations resolve largely as a desire for cheaper labor. If native labor were cheaper than foreign labor, it seems unlikely that prejudice against native born workers would be sufficient to run counter to the business compulsion to hold down labor costs.
The color most business owners--and virtually all successful business owners--care about most of all is green.
That does not prevent the rubric of DEI and similar presumptively "egalitarian" ideologies from being a convenient justification for what amounts to basic greed. Make profit seem noble and virtuous and business owners will dislocate their shoulder patting themselves on the back.
One thing to note is that the bias against native born workers cuts across all ethnic categories. Something that emerged when I was analyzing these labor patterns with relation to "Bidenomics" a few months back was that minorities in this country were being disadvantaged by these labor patterns as well. That indicates that ethnic or racial prejudice or animus is really not part of the animating impulse here.
If anything, this data indicates why Democrats (and, in particular, Democrat supporters) have shifted from focusing on minorities within this country to importing illegal aliens.
It really isn't the color of the skin that matters here. It's the color of money.
Eloquent!
Peter, bravo for posting actual data regarding this issue! I haven’t seen data in anyone else’s stances, and thus have been hesitant to take a pro or con position. I’m such a fan of Elon and Vivek that I’m biased in their favor, but on this H1-B visa, well, are they being biased toward their tech industries? It now appears so. Thanks for setting the matter straight.
You really should be on staff at the White House, Peter.
I second the motion (that you should be on the staff at the White House).
I have to admit, it could be a fun gig!
Donald Trump's people have yet to call me though! (sad face) ;)
Thanks! High praise indeed (and always appreciated)
Elon and Vivek are ultimately businessmen. They are giving the businessman’s perspective—and every businessman wants labor to be cheaper. I’ve run my own business and had to make payroll—I completely understand the business perspective at play here.
But the other perspective—that of the worker—is no less valid. Workers want labor to be pricier. Every person wants their labor to be more valuable.
A free market for labor is where those competing wants get resolved to achieve a presumptively faire market wage.
That is how wages are supposed to be set in a free-market economy, such as the United States claims its economy is.
Using immigration to manipulate the labor supply—and in particular using government regulation to do it—is a corruption of the labor market. That companies are able to do this means we do not have a free market for labor, but one that is very demonstrably tilted against workers. While that might be beneficial to businesses, it is by definition harmful to workers.
I’m not surprised that Elon and Vivek are showing a bias towards business. That’s what business people do. That probably even explains Donald Trump’s support for H1-B visas.
But the policy commitment Donald Trump made was to the American worker. Reining in immigration is a policy commitment that is going to advantage workers over businesses. For workers that is a good thing—it means higher wages. For the economy as a whole that is almost certainly a good thing, because worker wages have stagnated in this country. Most importantly, however, is that it is the promise Donald Trump made.
If the objective of Making America Great Again is to be realized, Donald Trump needs to keep his promises. Eliminating H1-B visas would be a really good step towards keeping promise #1.