Live data from Hacker News

Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

techcrunch.com

21–30 of 77 posts

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#21
More programmers to free the economy? Come on...

To REALLY free the economy we need a million of doctors from France, India, UK and Cuba competing here, locally, against our home grown millionaire surgeons. The #1 reason companies are outsourcing and people are leaving is this enormous burden of medical racketeering.

Come on, the world is so much larger than the information technology sector and most problems that can't be solved by coding.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#23
post #3

> Hundreds of thousands of mostly very smart and highly educated workers who could be starting companies are not. Alright, but millions of Americans could be starting companies as well, but are not. In fact, America is _not_ as an entrepreneurial country with lots of little small business owners as we'd like to think. That is the propaganda bullshit we get fed on every election cycle "we got help America's small busi…

Even within YC, our own Summer 08 batch, there are several startups by non-Americans that have been very successful at building useful products, raising money, and altogether creating value for the US economy. But those same startups have to jump through a million hoops just for the right to exist in our borders. So this effect is real. I don't claim to know to what extent our economy could be affected positively or…

> But those same startups have to jump through a million hoops just for the right to exist in our borders.

> I don't claim to know to what extent our economy could be affected positively or negatively, but it is real.

The question then is, who are we trying to help here? Do we want to help the immigrants or the American economy?

Unless, we can show how the hassle of immigrants trying to setup startup is seriously damaging our economy, then this starts to look more and more like we just want to provide some convenience for the immigrant workers. Of course, we should provide convenience, and should certainly not make it difficult on purpose, but that is not a top priority. We shouldn't be called xenophobes if we don't push this task to the priority of our things to do at the moment.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#24
post #13
post #2

This is a very biased article. The author neglects to mention that a very large portion of income generated by foreign born workers is sent home by those workers. The money doesn't stay in America to benefit the American economy. It also doesn't benefit the case to call those opposed to more immigration Xenophobes . They aren't xenophobes, they are rationally aware of the situation. Also, what he says is not true acc…

All economies depend on trade and division of labors to be prosperous. So money going back to India and other countries may help increase global trade.

It will increase consumption in those countries, but not necessarily consumption of american goods.

I think that money will benefit America more if it stays in America. This will happen if we employ more Americans who spend all of their money in America, rather than sending some of it to family members in other countries.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#25

This is bullshit. Here's actual data: http://www.businessweek.com/table/08/0305_h1b.htm More (I don't know the source, but seems correct): http://www.myvisajobs.com/Top_Visa_Sponsors.aspx Lookit, a lot of the H1-B slots are being taken up by consulting firms. We don't have a shortage of H1-Bs; we just allocate them poorly. That's what we need to fix. As to the (what I consider a minor) founding issue, that's pretty s…

I agree. This is like trying to fix the high rate of injuries by getting more band-aids.

To me it seems the article is advocating changing the legislation to make it more convenient for immigrant workers. That is of course followed by a stern warning to us 'xenophobes' that if we don't our economy will be ruined.

They should instead advocate for punishing large corporations for gaming the system, underpaying H1-B employees and depressing everyone else wages. For every 'smart' and 'bright' H1-B visa candidate there are a thousand of unqualified ones, with flaky academic or employment history record. The reason they are here, because they are willing to work for %30 less than Americans are.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#26
post #13
post #2

This is a very biased article. The author neglects to mention that a very large portion of income generated by foreign born workers is sent home by those workers. The money doesn't stay in America to benefit the American economy. It also doesn't benefit the case to call those opposed to more immigration Xenophobes . They aren't xenophobes, they are rationally aware of the situation. Also, what he says is not true acc…

All economies depend on trade and division of labors to be prosperous. So money going back to India and other countries may help increase global trade.

It's nice to help India's economy, or China or Russia. Unfortunately, US is not in the charitable business of helping developing economies.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#27

More programmers to free the economy? Come on... To REALLY free the economy we need a million of doctors from France, India, UK and Cuba competing here, locally, against our home grown millionaire surgeons. The #1 reason companies are outsourcing and people are leaving is this enormous burden of medical racketeering. Come on, the world is so much larger than the information technology sector and most problems that ca…

Liberalizing immigration in all other skilled industries is a good idea, too.

ADDED: Note that neither "programmer" nor "software" appear in the original article: the author is talking about all H1-Bs, which includes medical specialists. (Though, licensing issues might prove a more significant employment barrier for foreign doctors than immigration rules, and those also need to be addressed.)

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#28
post #3

> Hundreds of thousands of mostly very smart and highly educated workers who could be starting companies are not. Alright, but millions of Americans could be starting companies as well, but are not. In fact, America is _not_ as an entrepreneurial country with lots of little small business owners as we'd like to think. That is the propaganda bullshit we get fed on every election cycle "we got help America's small busi…

Even within YC, our own Summer 08 batch, there are several startups by non-Americans that have been very successful at building useful products, raising money, and altogether creating value for the US economy. But those same startups have to jump through a million hoops just for the right to exist in our borders. So this effect is real. I don't claim to know to what extent our economy could be affected positively or…

OK, just for full disclosure I am still trying to collect a large enough body of knowledge on immigration issues to make an informed opinion. That said, I'll let it be known that I am inclined to have immigration be open everywhere. Preferably with other places even being more attractive than the US. This way immigration contributes more to global development, and not just development in the US.

Now with this out of the way, I have to say that if these companies you are talking about are 'raising money', then they have not created any value for the US economy. You are hoping that they will create value for the US economy. When the companies turn profitable, then they will be creating value. Until that point, they are being used to recycle currency, not to create wealth.

Just a little nit pick on your post. The propensity to confuse 'raising money' with 'creating value' or 'creating wealth' is a pet peeve of mine.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#29

More programmers to free the economy? Come on... To REALLY free the economy we need a million of doctors from France, India, UK and Cuba competing here, locally, against our home grown millionaire surgeons. The #1 reason companies are outsourcing and people are leaving is this enormous burden of medical racketeering. Come on, the world is so much larger than the information technology sector and most problems that ca…

Your words will be lost on most people here friend. For them, 'raising money' is 'creating wealth'.

I agree though, we should stop bringing in programmers and start bringing in doctors.

Re: Free the H-1Bs, Free the Economy

#30
post #25

This is bullshit. Here's actual data: http://www.businessweek.com/table/08/0305_h1b.htm More (I don't know the source, but seems correct): http://www.myvisajobs.com/Top_Visa_Sponsors.aspx Lookit, a lot of the H1-B slots are being taken up by consulting firms. We don't have a shortage of H1-Bs; we just allocate them poorly. That's what we need to fix. As to the (what I consider a minor) founding issue, that's pretty s…

I agree. This is like trying to fix the high rate of injuries by getting more band-aids. To me it seems the article is advocating changing the legislation to make it more convenient for immigrant workers. That is of course followed by a stern warning to us 'xenophobes' that if we don't our economy will be ruined. They should instead advocate for punishing large corporations for gaming the system, underpaying H1-B emp…

Your proposal means more bureaucratic rules about what jobs are comparable and what pay rates should be. That's moving in the wrong direction, if you want growth and high-employment.

The article provides a much more simple solution: if someone qualifies to work in the USA, end the rules which tie them to a specific job. It's those rules that cause the gaming, limit competition by employers, and cause lower pay.

Post reply on HN