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Lastly, a big problem I have with the current visa situation is that it creates a market distortion by bringing in hundreds of thousands or engineers/programmer

by geebee 17y ago

Lastly, a big problem I have with the current visa situation is that it creates a market distortion by bringing in hundreds of thousands or engineers/programmers while leaving other fields completely protected. Imagine if the united states banned all foreign grown lemons but allowed in all foreign grown avocados. Well, you could say that by removing all tarrifs from avocados, we've increased free trade. But you can bet that any farm outside the US hoping to access our market that can shift production to avocados will do so, and any farm in the us that can shift to lemons will do so as well. This is what we've done to engineering. If you make it easy to come to the US as a programmer, but not as a lawyer, you distort the market. You should absolutely expect this to deter americans from engineering and encourage them to go into law.

tc 17y ago
I agree with that. Anywhere the government coerces the market you're going to get distortions. Is playing favorites the worst type of market distortion? That's hard to judge, but it is probably the most egregious. I don't think that immigration or foreign competition is the primary driver behind the decline in American engineering (if there is such a thing) though. The other mistakes we've made completely dwarf any effect this would have had: Our fiscal policy over the past few decades has made debt our primary export. Wall Street firms can make more money just dealing in US Treasury debt than the profits of all the successful companies in Silicon Valley combined. Steadily increasing regulation (SOX, whatever nonsense comes out of the current situation, etc.), litigiousness (often spurred by statue law: sexual harassment claims, hostile work environment, discrimination, etc.), and complicated tax code has made lawyers and CPAs more in demand, while licensing keeps their numbers down. The increasing nationalization of health care has misdirected a shocking amount of resources into this industry. All in all, the major reasons why a smart, rational young person, who is primarily motivated to make a buck, should go into law, medicine, banking, (or politics!) have almost nothing to do with immigration.

by geebee 17y ago

tc 17y ago

I agree with that. Anywhere the government coerces the market you're going to get distortions. Is playing favorites the worst type of market distortion? That's hard to judge, but it is probably the most egregious. I don't think that immigration or foreign competition is the primary driver behind the decline in American engineering (if there is such a thing) though. The other mistakes we've made completely dwarf any effect this would have had: Our fiscal policy over the past few decades has made debt our primary export. Wall Street firms can make more money just dealing in US Treasury debt than the profits of all the successful companies in Silicon Valley combined. Steadily increasing regulation (SOX, whatever nonsense comes out of the current situation, etc.), litigiousness (often spurred by statue law: sexual harassment claims, hostile work environment, discrimination, etc.), and complicated tax code has made lawyers and CPAs more in demand, while licensing keeps their numbers down. The increasing nationalization of health care has misdirected a shocking amount of resources into this industry. All in all, the major reasons why a smart, rational young person, who is primarily motivated to make a buck, should go into law, medicine, banking, (or politics!) have almost nothing to do with immigration.