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Honest question, not a snark. What would you say to the developers who are opposed to H1bs (for supposedly lowering salaries)? Isn't constraining H1b similar t

Honest question, not a snark. What would you say to the developers who are opposed to H1bs (for supposedly lowering salaries)? Isn't constraining H1b similar to homeowners stifling housing?

kamaal 8y ago
Answer is same the answer for stifling housing numbers, and the argument is same too. You want cheaper homes only till you buy a home, once you buy a home, you want homes to get expensive so that you can benefit. Similarly if you are building a company, or running a business(like a manager), you want H1B. Other wise you don't want it. Basically people vote with their wallets.
mywittyname 8y ago
It's all the same, the idea is limited supply leads to increased value. The problem with both arguments is that it's too elementary to mirror real life. More housing might actually increase existing values because the ability to convert a SFH to a multi-tenant building means that a property developer can extract much more value out of the land than is possible under current conditions. So while per-unit prices go down, aggregate housing value goes up and those with existing SFH will probably see their net worth skyrocket. Of course, certain less desirable areas may see a decline (read: normalization) in value, but that's unlikely. A similar thing happens with developers: more software leads to more economic value in software, which increases demand for developers. However, more developers mean more automation in certain areas, so some people may see the value of their skillset decline.
- nerfhammer 8y ago
  > those with existing SFH will probably see their net worth skyrocket. depends. It would go up for some in convenient locations but as soon as new apartments start going on the market they'll have to compete on price and prices will start to fall.
  - mywittyname 8y ago
    The value driver of the SFH is that is can be converted at any time into an n-family condo. So if n * avg_condo_value - development_costs > current_home_value, then the homeowner comes out ahead.
    - nerfhammer 8y ago
      Right, but not every SFH will not be replaced. You're going to start actually satisfying demand, and then prices will fall across the board.
      - mywittyname 8y ago
        Normally, I'd agree, but newcomers to SF have outstripped housing development by a large degree for something like two decades at this point. So the amount of new construction you'd need to satisfy current demand would be staggering. Not to mention, a drop in housing prices will make the region even more appealing.
marcell 8y ago
Not OP, but that’s even worse. Bringing in more engineers is likely to have a boost for local salaries, because engineers will start new companies that hire more engineers, or launch new products at existing companies and grow their market share. Software is a growth and landgrab sector right now, not a “divide the pie” sector.

Honest question, not a snark. What would you say to the developers who are opposed to H1bs (for supposedly lowering salaries)? Isn't constraining H1b similar to homeowners stifling housing?

kamaal 8y ago

Answer is same the answer for stifling housing numbers, and the argument is same too. You want cheaper homes only till you buy a home, once you buy a home, you want homes to get expensive so that you can benefit. Similarly if you are building a company, or running a business(like a manager), you want H1B. Other wise you don't want it. Basically people vote with their wallets.

mywittyname 8y ago

It's all the same, the idea is limited supply leads to increased value. The problem with both arguments is that it's too elementary to mirror real life. More housing might actually increase existing values because the ability to convert a SFH to a multi-tenant building means that a property developer can extract much more value out of the land than is possible under current conditions. So while per-unit prices go down, aggregate housing value goes up and those with existing SFH will probably see their net worth skyrocket. Of course, certain less desirable areas may see a decline (read: normalization) in value, but that's unlikely. A similar thing happens with developers: more software leads to more economic value in software, which increases demand for developers. However, more developers mean more automation in certain areas, so some people may see the value of their skillset decline.

nerfhammer 8y ago
> those with existing SFH will probably see their net worth skyrocket. depends. It would go up for some in convenient locations but as soon as new apartments start going on the market they'll have to compete on price and prices will start to fall.
- mywittyname 8y ago
  The value driver of the SFH is that is can be converted at any time into an n-family condo. So if n * avg_condo_value - development_costs > current_home_value, then the homeowner comes out ahead.
  - nerfhammer 8y ago
    Right, but not every SFH will not be replaced. You're going to start actually satisfying demand, and then prices will fall across the board.
    - mywittyname 8y ago
      Normally, I'd agree, but newcomers to SF have outstripped housing development by a large degree for something like two decades at this point. So the amount of new construction you'd need to satisfy current demand would be staggering. Not to mention, a drop in housing prices will make the region even more appealing.

marcell 8y ago

Not OP, but that’s even worse. Bringing in more engineers is likely to have a boost for local salaries, because engineers will start new companies that hire more engineers, or launch new products at existing companies and grow their market share. Software is a growth and landgrab sector right now, not a “divide the pie” sector.