Tech titan Elon Musk, who has quickly become President-elect Donald Trump's right-hand man, got into a heated spat Thursday with MAGA allies over foreign worker visas, leading to a heated exchange with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chair Vivek. Along with Mr. Ramaswamy, he argued as follows: This program is key to American innovation.
The day after Christmas, billionaire DOGE executives announced that some of President Trump's most ardent opponents of the H-1B program, which allows highly skilled foreign workers to enter the United States for their sponsoring companies, He lashed out at his supporters and other immigration hardliners.
“What I'm saying is that for America to continue to win, it's essential that we attract the top 0.1% of our engineering talent through legal immigration.” I wrote to Xlikens the United States to a sports team that brings in athletes to liven up the game.
The world's richest man agrees with DOGE's Ramaswamy, who claimed that American “culture” celebrates “mediocrity,” and this is why MAGAs who want to restrict even legal immigration to the U.S. This caused the first rift between members of the world.
“The reason why top technology companies often hire foreign-born first-generation engineers rather than 'native' Americans is not because of Americans' innate IQ deficit (a lazy and incorrect explanation). An important part of it is In the end, it comes down to the keyword 'culture','' says Ramaswamy. I wrote a long post about X.
“Hard questions demand hard answers. If we really want to solve problems seriously, we have to face the truth.”
Vivek Ramaswamy before meeting with MPs
December 5, 2024 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP (via Getty Images)
Ramaswamy then explains how, since at least the 1990s, American popular culture has favored “prom queens over math Olympiad champions” and “athletes over valedictorians,” even though the United States has lost as a result. , explained how other countries like China were able to retain talented engineers. Top new employee.
“For too long (at least since the '90s, and probably longer), our American culture has worshiped mediocrity over excellence. It doesn't start in college, it starts at a young age.” he explained.
“In the competitive global market for technical talent, 'normal' doesn't cut it. And if we pretend like that, we'll get our butts handed to us by China.”
MAGA acolytes like Laura Loomer and right-wing agitators like Ann Coulter and Mike Cernovich argue that Musk and Ramaswamy's support for foreign workers is a result of Silicon Valley. They countered that it was only for their own needs.
Their criticism points out how visas make it harder for foreigners to leave their jobs and drive down wages for American workers.
“American workers can quit their jobs. Imported H-1B workers can't. Tech companies aren't looking for 'highly skilled' workers, they're looking for indentured servants.” ,” Coulter said.
“This is why some find this discussion so frustrating. Elon is right about this problem. He's also right that this solution is flawed. We're ending the farm system and losing our bench.” BIG TECH did this. Now they want more H-1Bs because of the wounds they inflicted.”
In a series of posts, Loomer also claimed that the X account was censored by the platform's owner, Musk, for trolling DOGE leaders, apparently linking the tech billionaire to the president-elect. They predicted that “divorce is coming soon.''
His rival in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Nikki Haley, further slammed Ramaswamy, saying, “There's nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is… Just look at the border and see how many people want what we have. We should invest and prioritize Americans, not foreign workers.”
Silicon Valley leaders see H-1B visas as a huge boon for their industry, but the soon-to-be 47th president has come out against the policy during his first term. signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to give preferential treatment to highly skilled workers. Recruiting higher-paying applicants to “end the theft of American prosperity.”
But President Trump, 78, also said during the campaign that he wants workers, especially those with needed skills, to enter the U.S. legally, adding that he wants to “recruit and retain” top graduates. '', he said, adding that he wants to prevent them from returning to their home countries or returning home. We're building millions of companies there.
President Trump said, “I think since you graduated from college, you should automatically get a green card to stay in this country as part of your diploma, and that includes junior college.'' In Podcast”. In June, he met with Silicon Valley leaders.
Jason Calacanis, one of several tech investors to host the podcast, said the 45th president, if re-elected, “promises to give us even more ability to import the best talent from around the world into the United States. ” I asked.
