Both points are well taken. My first statement is that I am not against the H1-B visa program. As origonally envisioned it was to allow 65k engineers scientists etc to come to the US. That is not an insignificant number, but here is the rub.
Engineers scientists etc are not cheap to educate and train. Hence your comment about re-habbing our educational system is just what I am all about. By allowing the importation of foreigners, in huge number, we are dis-incentivizing native born people to compete. Rather than allowing true internal market forces to force our education systems to reform, we are providing a short circuit way out. Why invest millions in creating schools that will turn out engineers and then wait a decade when you can have them now and cheap!
As to Perry’s comment, thats cool I understand the theory behind why protectionism is bad. I just don’t agree. There are high fixed costs that are very long term to persuing an science or engineering education. If all of a sudden there is some major tectonic shift in the marketplace, ie NAFTA GATT, then those fixed costs need to be addressed. As it is all enlarging the current program will do is depress wages and force me and others to compete in an unfair marketplace.
Everyone thinks free trade is a great idea until they realize that it has some very dark corners. Currently one of those dark corners is the export of high dollar high value jobs from the US to foreigners. Some of that is good. It helps spread development and bring new ideas to our nation.
In a way this really is just a highly specialized sub-section of the broader immigration debate.
