OurBoysGirls1st

Thanks for bringing up this point. Anyone who has grown up in the US knows well how far down wages have gone.

My father was an accountant. He could afford a house and raised a family of 5 on his salary at age 40, earning ~60k/yr. I'm an experienced developer. I make $200k/yr. I'm raising a family of 4 on my salary and i'm 40. I cant afford a house. Heck, I cant even afford more than a 2br apt.

To me, it is completely meaningless that i earn 3x+ than my dad, the wages have not kept up with inflation. My 200k/yr doesnt buy me as much as 60k did a generation ago.

How is this "no loss in jobs or lowering of wages". If anything this demonstrates that Increasing supply lowers wages.

Who knew, economics was right all along!

>> They aren't competitors, they are complements and create more jobs.

We've had the H1B program for 25+yrs. We accept 65+20k workers a year. That is 8520+ workers who have entered the country on this program. Lets round down and say 2million workers. These are 2million jobs that didn't go to local graduates, but instead to overseas graduates.

Of those 2 million workers, could anyone cite any significant companies started by the H1b workers which created jobs?* I mean, not a dozen jobs here or there, but serious job creation that would offset the 2 million local workers who were displaced?

There is this myth that H1b workers create more jobs than they take, but where are these jobs? Oh, please dont mention Google or Tesla, as those founders didnt come in on H1bs.

>> Even with H1B, there are literally not enough engineers in the Valley to saturate the demand from companies.

By "not enough engineers" I'm assuming you mean not enough engineers willing to work for so little they are forced to bunk with 3 roommates?

I know plenty of engineers. Most dont want to work as SWEs because the median salary barely affords a studio apartment, especially after California taxes.

Also, what about the 40+yr olds who are oddly purged from the workforce regularly. If there were a shortage, elderly workers would be retained, not purged in favor of cheaper, younger workers.

Tons of engineers go into consulting, real estate, finance, etc because engineers simply dont make enough, especially given the SF/SV center-of-gravity of jobs. There isnt some magical shortage of workers. There is a shortage of workers willing to work for near subsistence wages [in SF/SV prices]

If the function could move overseas, it would have. Why assume companies are acting irrationally and paying higher US wages when they can hire inexpensively overseas? Companies hire locally because many jobs cant be moved overseas cost effectively.

>> Qualified supply is nowhere close to matching demand.

This is wrong on so many levels.

1. "Qualified" supply means experience. That means you arent hiring 22yos working at subsistence salaries shacking up with three buddies in a double-bunk apartment. It means you have to pay a "qualified person salary." I'm a qualified person, I have 18yrs experience at top firms. But guess what...175k/yr in SF/SV doesnt cut it, it gets you a 1br apt. You cant raise 2 kids in a 1br apartment. Where would the kids sleep? in the bathroom? on the dining table? Also, option compensation doesnt count, as I cant pay rent with options.

2. If you want "qualified talent" perhaps SF/SV would not age discriminate. But they do. They want young people willing to earn so little they are forced into having 3 roommates.

3. There are tons of qualified workers. Most of us dont want to move to SF/SV because the prevailing wage is too low. Pay the right wage (i.e., perhaps something that one can raise a family on) and your "shortage will magically disappear.

>> Qualified supply is nowhere close to matching demand.

I think what this typically means is: we're looking for talented developers willing to earn so littler they are forced to bunk with multiple roommates and/or live in roach infested apartments, something only desperate overseas workers are willing to do.