4 ms·

The belief system here makes me incredulous. How exactly does the average upper middle class worker support 'occupational licensing' and 'restrictions on the im

The belief system here makes me incredulous. How exactly does the average upper middle class worker support 'occupational licensing' and 'restrictions on the immigration of white-collar professionals'? Can you outline the exact steps that they've taken to, say, support occupational licensing? When did a pro-occupational licensing candidate run for office? The latter is especially ironic because so many people believe the opposite, that the US has supported the H1B and other visa programs to drive down programmer wages. While I agree that superior education etc. absolutely helps the children of the upper middle class, the 'social connections' part is pure fantasy. The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech

usaar333 8y ago
All of this is covered in Dream Horders (the linked book). Occupational licensing is a weaker argument (it's not covered in Reeve's original nytimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-pretending-youre-not-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-prete...), but there's something to be said for how expensive it is to get through medical or law school (in part due to licensing requirements). I haven't read the book, but I imagine immigration and licensing connect. It's known to be difficult for foreign-trained doctors to ramp up in the US (https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-educated-some-foreign-born-doctors-still-can-t-practice https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-ed...) and lawyers have difficulties just changing states due to state-level bar exams.
ForHackernews 8y ago
> The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech Is that really true? Anecdotally, I have been far, far more likely (perhaps 95% of the time vs <25% of the time) to secure an interview at a company when I get a referral from a current employee who I know socially than when I apply blind through some web application form. I'd be very surprised to hear if you've had a different experience.

usaar333 8y ago

All of this is covered in Dream Horders (the linked book). Occupational licensing is a weaker argument (it's not covered in Reeve's original nytimes article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-pretending-youre-not-rich.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/10/opinion/sunday/stop-prete...), but there's something to be said for how expensive it is to get through medical or law school (in part due to licensing requirements). I haven't read the book, but I imagine immigration and licensing connect. It's known to be difficult for foreign-trained doctors to ramp up in the US (https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-educated-some-foreign-born-doctors-still-can-t-practice https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-03-26/highly-trained-and-ed...) and lawyers have difficulties just changing states due to state-level bar exams.

ForHackernews 8y ago

> The vast majority of regular people secure employment based on actual credentials and not 'connections', especially in tech Is that really true? Anecdotally, I have been far, far more likely (perhaps 95% of the time vs <25% of the time) to secure an interview at a company when I get a referral from a current employee who I know socially than when I apply blind through some web application form. I'd be very surprised to hear if you've had a different experience.