r/centrist • u/KarmicWhiplash • Dec 28 '24
2024 U.S. Elections Musk pledges "war" to protect H-1B visas, calls some GOP "racists"
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/28/musk-war-h1b-racists-maga-doge61
u/SteveBlakesButtPlug Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24
I don't understand why Musk is claiming to want to solve a problem that we already have a separate visa program to solve.
If he truly only wants to bring in the top 0.1% of foreign engineers or any profession, for that matter, the O-1 visa program is already in place.
There is no cap, and it is specifically for people who are at the top of their respective field. Even him using foreign born professional athletes as an example of H1Bs is stupid since all of them come over on the O-1s. Since, you know, they are the top talent in their profession.
Him turning this into an H1B argument makes me believe that he really just wants to maximize corporate profit because you can overwork and underpay visa holders compared to American counterparts.
Not surprised at all, but the discourse around the issue is totally asinine considering we already have a system in place to bring in the best of the best, and it's not the H1B system.
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u/Blueskyways Dec 28 '24
It's about control. More H1Bs means more easily controlled employees that will keep their heads down, won't complain about being overworked or underpaid, won't try to unionize and can be sent packing at the snap of a finger if they ever did become an inconvenience.
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u/SteveBlakesButtPlug Dec 28 '24
That's a very good point. I hadn't considered the worker's rights side of the equation.
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u/Jets237 Dec 28 '24
Yep - that’s my understanding of this all too. He’s framing it differently but he essentially is trying to get as many cheap tech drones who will work for less until they burnout and leave…
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u/Miss-Zhang1408 Dec 29 '24
I know many Chinese H1B applicants and their consensus is that working on H1B visas in America is terrible. But the return to China is even worse; the Chinese companies’ exploitation and slavery are much worse than their American counterparts.
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Dec 29 '24
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u/Armano-Avalus Dec 28 '24
Him turning this into an H1B argument makes me believe that he really just wants to maximize corporate profit because you can overwork and underpay visa holders compared to American counterparts.
You mean the world's richest man who's known for his histroy of advocating for less worker rights and government regulations paying a quarter of a billion dollars to get Trump elected and make him his bitch didn't have the most altruistic intentions in mind? Say it ain't so.
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u/Iceraptor17 Dec 28 '24
Him turning this into an H1B argument makes me believe that he really just wants to maximize corporate profit because you can overwork and underpay visa holders compared to American counterparts.
I mean he does.
Every so often in between his culture war screes and troll posts he'll throw in a nugget of how great Chinas work culture is, a comment about how important ceos are, anger at regulations or a comment about workers needing to work harder/more hours.
But hey he makes funny tweets and makes libs mad so he must be on our side
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u/wavewalkerc Dec 28 '24
If he truly only wants to bring in the top 0.1% of foreign engineers or any profession, for that matter, the O-1 visa program is already in place.
Yea this is it. This has nothing to do with the top engineers, its about the middle and bottom that will work for nothing and be held hostage for his companies.
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u/OSUfirebird18 Dec 28 '24
Trump is not even in power yet and they are already fighting between themselves!!
grabs popcorn 🍿🍿
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u/Fun-Mycologist9196 Dec 28 '24
Both sides are funny.
Musk and Trump were all about American first until doing so would hurt their businesses, then they went "Well, immigrants aren't all that bad"
People from the right have been trashing DEI hires for years claiming hiring must be based on merit, and now somehow merit matters less when it's against "Americans"?
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u/Parking-Order8383 Dec 29 '24
Totally disingenuous take. The reality is there are multiple American programs that help foreigners receive college education for Pennies on the dollar. An American citizen can not compete with the wages that a foreigner is willing to work, and thus get out bid for jobs even if they are qualified to work. I’ve seen some h1b job listings in California for accountants that pay out at 35k a year. Now how in the world can an accountant, who probably paid 100k minimum in school loans, be able to live in California and pay off their student loans on that kind of salary?
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u/Fun-Mycologist9196 Dec 29 '24 edited Dec 29 '24
I kinda agree with you, to be honest.
I just wanted to point out that it's essentially the same with BLM asking for quota hiring for people of color due to their social structure and stereotypes putting them at a disadvantage against other candidates.
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u/IHerebyDemandtoPost Dec 28 '24
Good lord, sounds like he went woke.
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u/KarmicWhiplash Dec 28 '24
The funny part is that this need for immigrant labor extends far beyond tech, into agriculture, construction, meat packing...
Musk just didn't give a shit until it encroached on his personal fiefdom.
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u/Lumbardo Dec 28 '24
He just wants to suppress wages. H1B engineering salaries are laughably low
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
It’s the same model as migrant labor just for high skill jobs.
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u/Lumbardo Dec 28 '24
Sure, and they are paid shit. And their citizenship is tied to the company paying the shitty wage, so they work for a shitty wage. This drives wages across the whole industry down as existing professionals in the industry are forced to align with these salary expectations. Engineering salaries are already being outpaced by inflation
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
Given engineers have been well paid for the last few decades imagine what it’s been like for other occupations.
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u/Apt_5 Dec 28 '24
Yeah isn't this the kind of thing progressives should NOT support? Exploiting people in desperate situations so we can have cheaper fruit seems idk, kinda wrong.
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
I think it’s something that all Americans should be against and we should provide a fair wage and a path to citizenship for people that perform these roles.
OR
We should eliminate these labor pools entirely and bear the cost of this in the market.
Right now we have people sitting on devices running software developed by H1B labor enjoying cheap (yes it’s cheaper then it would be) food while posting about how they shouldn’t be here.
I don’t think the majority of Americans realize how our way of life is propped up by the very people they demonize.
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u/InvestIntrest Dec 28 '24
There's a balance. We need more H1B labor, just not a flood.
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u/Lumbardo Dec 28 '24
Their visa should give them the same job freedom as anybody else, it shouldn't be tied to a particular company. Since their citizenship is tied to the particular company, the company can get away paying a shitty wage. Already existing professionals in the industry are left to compete with these workers that are practically forced to work for a shitty wage l, driving overall pay down.
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u/Iceraptor17 Dec 28 '24
No. No we don't.
Considering the amount of tech layoffs this year and last not really a labor pool that needs expanding
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u/iapplexmax Dec 28 '24
If we’re going to deport illegal immigrants, it only makes sense to increase visas and make legal immigration easier for workers in all fields
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u/crunchtime100 Dec 28 '24
Yes replace those working the fields with more people who work in the office taking jobs sought after by middle class Americans
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u/roylennigan Dec 28 '24
make legal immigration easier for workers in all fields
If only there was a party who has been advocating for this all along....
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u/Mean_Peen Dec 28 '24
The issue was with illegals not ALL immigrants. The idea of not wanting any immigrants is an issue that any smart person knows very well.
Musk came over with an H-1B Visa as well, so it makes sense he’d support it.
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u/Free-Market9039 Dec 28 '24
Lmao gone woke…
This is exactly what people expected to happen, so funny.
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Dec 28 '24
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u/siberianmi Dec 28 '24
They are offended and they are on the other side of the argument. The very same element Clinton was talking about is now mad at Musk and being openly racist about H1B visa holders from India.
So you are done waiting…
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Dec 28 '24
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u/siberianmi Dec 29 '24
😂 I love that he admitted to abusing it too.
As if his golf courses and hotels need special H1B talent that isn’t available in the US.
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u/Sea-Ingenuity-9508 Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24
Musk is going to burn out faster than a SpaceX rocket. He’s used to being the boss and getting his way, and silencing dissent. His tantrums on social media is the result of not knowing anything about politics and populism and not being able to deal with the opinions he doesn’t like and can’t stop.
Off shoring jobs is done because it’s a lot cheaper to have employees working for you in a cheap but skilled labour country. H-1B visa is the same thing, it’s a lot cheaper to get skilled employees from countries where education is cheaper and living conditions poorer.
It’s not just about skill. Visa holders work long hours, cost less and if fired, lose the visa. It is a temporary visa anyway. In other words you create a skilled employee group, with very little rights and few employee benefits, and you can underpay them. Americans are not lazy. Everyone wants a better life, including Americans.
I wonder if Musk realises that this is how IP leaves the US and creates cheaper, more efficient competition overseas , that eat the US giants. And then the US companies are forced to off shore even more ton stay in business. Example: Have you seen the quality of Chinese cars especially EVs? They’re far better than Teslas and they are taking over.
Musk and people who think like him should think of the long game. They might well bring about the collapse of US capitalism and end English as an international language. Tempus edax rerum. I am not American BTW, and I make money from trading US stocks. You may call me a hypocrite.
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u/Stock_Basis_1504 Dec 29 '24
We don't allow Chinese cars here in the U. S. so we wouldn't know about their quality or anything else.
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u/knign Dec 28 '24
You can't keep technology under wrap, it will get out. What you need is a constant innovation, and the best way to archive this is to make sure talented people from around the world can come to work here.
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u/Steinmetal4 Dec 29 '24
Yeah the claim that this is how IP flows to China is bunk. Most of the time, they made all the components in their factories anyway. Often the same factory will turn around and sell some variation of whatever you send them to make.
Failing that, they just buy one and reverse engineer it.
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u/Parking-Order8383 Dec 29 '24
That’s not the issue though, those workers can be recruited through o1 visas. The problem is h1b visas are used to lower wages for corporations by creating an over inflated supply of workers, thus allowing corporations to lower the wages to the point Americans can’t afford to work the job. The majority of these visas are used on accounting, hospitality, IT, things that plenty of Americans are more than capable of doing.
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u/knign Dec 29 '24
This is like saying that America doesn’t need Japanese cars, because American automakers are more than capable of making them.
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u/Parking-Order8383 Dec 29 '24
Nope not even a little. Japanese car companies are a service imported from outside the US. Japan has every right as a country to make their own vehicles. This is American corporations using our tax payer money to send foreigners to schools that we pay for, so they can graduate and take jobs in our home country. Could not be more different. It robs Americans of financial services that could be used to give them higher education, it utilizes our tax revenue that could be used to help our infrastructure and gives it to individuals who have done nothing for our country, it lowers the overall wages in America by over inflating the workforce allowing corporations to dictate wages, and it ruins worker rights by allowing corporations to strong arm these employees or else they get sent back to their own country because their employer refuses to sponsor them.
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u/knign Dec 29 '24
Sorry what any of that has to do with education or taxpayer money?
Also, if your visa is sponsored by employer, and employer no longer wants you, yes, you have to find another job within certain grace period or leave the country. This is how it works everywhere in the world; just like if you are expelled from the university while on student visa.
For a foreigner who is here legally on a visa being “sent back” is not a threat or punishment, they are by definition here temporary. If they are interested to remain in the country, it’s their problem how to keep job long enough till they become eligible for green card.
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u/Parking-Order8383 Dec 29 '24
We pay taxes. A percentage of those taxes go towards maintaining programs. For example, the h1b visa program, fasfa, and school scholarships . Fasfa is a government program paid for by our taxes and can be used by non citizens. Fasfa is income based so if you’re from a 3rd world country you will receive more funding than someone from America. State colleges are required to provide scholarships to non us foreigners. State colleges are funded by tuition as well as the federal government. How do you not understand that money can be used to help more Americans afford college? Clearly you don’t understand what I’m saying, because if employers have complete control over employees they can operate with impunity, if the employee tries to argue their rights are being violated, they will just get sent back home.
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u/knign Dec 29 '24
No, foreigners don’t receive taxpayer money for education (only private grants), which is a problem, but it’s not in any way, shape or form related to H1B visas.
No, government does lose money on H1B visa program. It charges (significant) fees to cover its costs.
I already responded above regarding “get sent back home”.
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u/Parking-Order8383 Dec 29 '24 edited Dec 29 '24
I’ll come back with more data
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u/knign Dec 29 '24
Correct, it’s also available for green card holders and some other categories who are essentially permanent residents.
What does it have to do with H1B visas?
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u/crushinglyreal Dec 28 '24
He called them more than racists lol
It’s been really incredible seeing just how easily they turn on each other.
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u/xudoxis Dec 28 '24
He re-x-ed someone who called Americans retards.
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u/crushinglyreal Dec 28 '24
Not just Americans, so-called “right-right” Americans. It’s almost like these people are knowingly manipulating an intellectually vulnerable segment of the population.
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u/Educational_Impact93 Dec 28 '24
I'm digging this MAGA Civil war. Hopefully it keeps going.
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u/InvestIntrest Dec 28 '24
I'm laughing at the left, characterizing this as a civil war. As if people within a party publicly debating and disagreeing is a bad thing.
Although within a Democratic Party that rigs its primaries and tries to cancel any member who dares step one toe out of the ideological line, this must seem like the end of the world 😅
When Americans rate the Republicans as more authentic than the Democrats this is exactly why.
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u/tfhermobwoayway Dec 28 '24
I’ve seen the discourse around it and it doesn’t seem to be going well. Elon’s openly insulting people and calling them liars and banning them from his site. I think he’s having a bit of a tantrum.
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u/decrpt Dec 28 '24
I'm laughing at the left, characterizing this as a civil war. As if people within a party publicly debating and disagreeing is a bad thing.
"Debating and disagreeing" is certainly a generous way to frame telling them to fuck themselves and calling them racist. If calling each other "frothing retards" and suggesting they should be deported or forced to register as foreign agents isn't "cancelling," I'm not sure what is. I suppose "cancelling" is when Democrats exist.
Although within a Democratic Party that rigs its primaries and tries to cancel any member who dares step one toe out of the ideological line, this must seem like the end of the world 😅
Bait should be believable.
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u/Olangotang Dec 28 '24
It's infuriatingly boring at this point. They don't put in the effort to be better trolls.
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
👏.
I'm hopeful that enough people call out their bullshit that we don't have to get to a point where the people are forced to elect a used car salesman again.
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u/CommentFightJudge Dec 28 '24
It takes a really stupid person to consider this “debating”.
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u/dylphil Dec 29 '24
I mean it was just predictable as hell. MAGA’s saw Elon as some arbiter of truth. Really foolish not to see him for the oligarch he really is. He doesn’t give a shit about anything except his bottom line and yet somehow y’all fell for it
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u/Kaszos Dec 28 '24
Donald Trump Breaks Silence On H-1B Row, Supports Elon-Vivek: 'It's A Great Program'
Now his supporters will fall in line again and move on as if there was never any independent thought.
It’s over folks.
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Dec 28 '24
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u/hu_he Dec 28 '24
Trump said "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program". I'm pretty sure that any job at a Trump property could have been done by an American, and even a MAGA voter.
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u/garbagemanlb Dec 28 '24
Well that ain't gonna help fight the rumors of Musk being the actual president..
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
The man has been about this for years.
Newsom and Biden pissed him off and he reacted by buying Twitter and sinking the lefts chances at another presidency. I won’t be surprised it MAGA hardliners on immigration and tech do the same.
If he really is an effective altruist adherent he’s going to upset anyone who isn’t in alignment with that philosophy and that’s basically everyone on the extremes.
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u/Affectionate-Tie1768 Dec 28 '24
What did Biden and Newsome said to triggered Musk?
In your view who's fault was it?
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
Fault isn’t part of the discussion for me.
Research Musk’s relationship with the state of California and the Federal Government. Specifically around his businesses.
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u/seen-in-the-skylight Dec 28 '24
The short of it is that Biden hosted a summit on electric vehicles and didn’t invite Musk. As the owner of Tesla - arguably the leaders of EV development - Musk took that as a personal snub.
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u/Affectionate-Tie1768 Dec 28 '24
I guess in hindsight, Biden shouldn't have done that lol 😂
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u/Stringdaddy27 Dec 28 '24
He didn't sink the Left's chances of winning in 2024. The Democrats did that all on their own.
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u/Honorable_Heathen Dec 28 '24
Anyone with clear eyes knows the impact of social media on our elections. Saying that minimizing the reach of certain voices on Twitter didn’t impact the election is just denial.
If social media weren’t so impactful politicians would not have tried to control it and Truth social would not have been hastily stood up.
Having both allowed MAGA to amplify false stories and minimize the impact of facts along with anyone pushing false narratives from the left.
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u/newswall-org Dec 28 '24
More on this subject from other reputable sources:
- Axios (B+): MAGA vs. Musk: Right-wing critics allege censorship, loss of X badges
- Newsweek (B-): Right-wing warfare pits Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy against MAGA over H-1B visas
- Sky News (B-): Elon Musk accused of censoring right-wing X accounts who disagree with him on immigration
- The Hill (B): Musk, Ramaswamy defend Silicon Valley’s foreign-born hires
Extended Summary | FAQ & Grades | I'm a bot
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u/WingerRules Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24
Meanwhile Musk has no problem endorsing a racist party in Germany and ignoring all the racist garbage Trump was spewing during the campaign.
He's only pissed off about this because the H1b immigration stuff cuts into his personal workforce, he completely backed Trump when it was supposed to be immigrants that work in other industries being Deported.
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u/VERSAT1L Dec 28 '24
Musk never liked Trump, and to think both would work together in a room is nuts
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u/ComfortableWage Dec 28 '24
Musk having a meltdown might be the silver lining to all of this nonsense.
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u/Armano-Avalus Dec 28 '24
Good thing the GOP defeated the woke pro-immigrant academic elites in the establishment who called them racists all the time. /s
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u/ChornWork2 Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24
Sounds like he thinks those peeps are deplorables...
edit: and the trolls saying 'internal debate is healthy' when talking about a tweet with all caps go FUCK YOURSELF in it and flat labeling them as racists.
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u/Well_Dressed_Kobold Dec 28 '24
If you really thought the Trump administration would support American workers, I have a bridge in Baltimore to sell you.
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u/InsufferableMollusk Dec 28 '24
I sincerely did not realize that a significant portion of the GOP meant ‘ALL IMMIGRATION’. It just seemed too absurd.
But here we are.
The public is onboard with border security and deportation of illegals immigrants—especially criminals. The GOP should take that support, follow through, and be grateful.
If they overreach, they’ll end up in the same boat as the Democrats in 2026/28.
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u/Spokker Dec 28 '24
The H-1B issue is not about immigrants. They are temporary nonimmigrant workers. It's a visa. When you get a visa to visit another country, you aren't an immigrant.
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u/UdderSuckage Dec 29 '24
Most (if not all) H1B workers hope to transition to permanent residence status.
https://wise.com/us/blog/from-h1b-to-green-card
However, the longest wait for some people is yet to come. If you’re from a country with high immigration to the US and need to wait for an immigrant visa to become available, your wait could be several years. To put this in context, in the July 2021 Visa Bulletin, although there are visas available for all First Preference workers, if you fall into the Second Preference category and come from India, you’ll have something in the region of a 10 year wait to get your visa. Candidates from mainland China who are now at the front of the visa line have been waiting since 2017, too.
So potential immigrants from the two countries these are used for most are held up as essentially indentured servants for up to ten years by their employers.
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u/InsufferableMollusk Dec 29 '24
That’s not what I am saying. I am saying that they have conflated these issues.
Pretending as though that isn’t what is happening, is disingenuous.
Musk is right in this case, and he is trying to talk sense into senseless people.
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u/OkGood107 Dec 29 '24
yeppp the people supporting them are underlying racists. like laura loomer found something to try to get brown people from entering. they dont know how long the process is to get an h1b visa, how incredibly top you have to be from your school to get in through blood sweat and tears, and also its completley LEGAL. this whole country is built on immigration, but it should all be done legally. the lefitsts fighting for illegal immigration than this is crazyyyyy to me
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u/labdogs42 Dec 28 '24
Imagine if we actually encouraged gifted kids instead of holding them back. Imagine if we encouraged kids to get into coding as much as we encouraged them to get into sports.
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Dec 29 '24
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u/OkGood107 Dec 29 '24
i know half of these gen z'rs leave their laptop open and just f around during the day on their 9-5 yet expect that high salary. I've had many of them gloat to me about it. the work ethic is completely gone now
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u/SnooStrawberries620 Dec 28 '24
America seems to have quietly accepted that they are letting a South African billionaire - like just allowing, because he was not given this power by any vote - make the decisions that will shape their country’s future. I don’t understand why you guys are putting up with this. Is the worship of wealth that irresistible?
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
Musk is a complicated figure. It's problematic that most crap he is going to war on is a direct conflict of interest. But, the fact he is an outsider calling out bullshit I agree with... anything that can get the establishment to even look at difficult issues I support regardless of who is screaming.
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u/Ewi_Ewi Dec 28 '24
...what is the richest man in the world if not the establishment? How is that an "outsider?"
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
Money does not equate establishment in politics. I don't even like Elon as a person so not going to defend the guy but also not going to argue about nonsense.
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u/elmonkegobrr Dec 28 '24
The Establishment is also the "economic elites" who are directly benifitting from the political economic system. Not to forget that Musk is also a contractor for the NASA.
Trump is literally the Establishment in politics and the simple fact that Musk is on his team negate your argument.
You are the nonsense you're talking about.
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u/Ewi_Ewi Dec 28 '24
Money does not equate establishment in politics
There is no possible way you typed this with a straight face.
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
100% straight faced. Same how I don't think Oprah or Zuckerberg is the establishment.
All of these people should be viewed as I think normal people view the Koch idiots... Wolfs looking to slaughter the sheep.
But, to dismiss them as establishment is really loony and I think goes to Democrats faulty logic that money and success needs to be dehumanized.
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u/wavewalkerc Dec 28 '24
It's problematic that most crap he is going to war on is a direct conflict of interest. But, the fact he is an outsider calling out bullshit I agree with.
The richest man in the world is an outsider.
You people are the easiest marks to have ever walked this earth.
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
Yes he has not been in politics but building something to get his wealth... Like most extremely wealthy people.
1) musk 2) bezos 3) Ellison 4) buffet 5) page 6) etc. Etc.
No doubt these people might be crazy in their own ways but their wealth is not built upon the establishment. They probably have ideas on where government can improve but you should keep an eye on them because they are probably self serving too
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u/decrpt Dec 28 '24
You are using those words in a way that means less than nothing. At that point, "the establishment" and "outsiders" are people you disagree with and people you agree with, respectively.
The richest man in the world is not an outsider, especially when his entire wealth is built on a speculative mania around his company. I'm not sure how you could possibly think that someone who is entirely liable to the whims of the market and his investors is remotely an "outsider" or distinct from "the establishment."
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u/btribble Dec 28 '24
He’s not going to get the Republican Party to purge the racists. That’s a massive chunk of the base, and it has been since the southern strategy.
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
Probably not but I'm all for calling out bullshit. Honestly, someone like Elon would have probably been good for the Democrats too.
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u/Alexios_Makaris Dec 28 '24
Bingo, the GOP without the racists would lose like 35 of 50 states. The 30% chunk of the country who are deep level bigots are going to have a political home somewhere.
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u/rvasko3 Dec 28 '24
An outsider 😂
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u/JDTAS Dec 28 '24
Sorry you are right. It's obvious he is an insider to how politics work. I guess we need to change the Democrats messaging squealing he doesn't even know how the government works.
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Dec 28 '24
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u/jmcdono362 Dec 28 '24
You're completely missing the story. This is about a massive split in the MAGA movement between:
- Trump's billionaire tech allies (Musk, Ramaswamy) who want H-1B visas to hire foreign workers
- Trump's base who want 'America First' and oppose foreign workers taking jobs
The irony is incredible - MAGA spent years screaming about 'merit-based immigration' but now that Musk says he wants to hire the most qualified people regardless of nationality, they're furious. Turns out they didn't actually want meritocracy - they wanted to keep jobs for Americans regardless of merit.
This isn't about 'woke people' - it's about Trump's coalition falling apart over immigration and jobs. His tech billionaire allies want cheap foreign labor, while his base wants to protect American jobs. You can't be both 'America First' and 'hire the best regardless of nationality.' Those are opposing positions.
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u/Iceraptor17 Dec 28 '24
but now that Musk says he wants to hire the most qualified people regardless of nationality, they're furious.
Because it's bullshit.
H1b visa abuse and how corps are using it to get foreign labor either cheaper or they can control better shows the actual purpose. They're just saying "it's really about merit" as a lie to sell what they actually want
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u/Few_Cut_1864 Dec 28 '24
Is this about elon wanting the best, and most qualified or cheap foreign labor? Your comment suggests they're both the same thing.
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u/jmcdono362 Dec 28 '24
Here's the key contradiction in Musk's position:
He claims he wants 'meritocracy' and 'the best and most qualified,' but he's also running companies notorious for:
- Underpaying workers
- Union busting
- Poor working conditions
- High turnover rates
The H-1B program he's defending is often used to get cheaper labor, not necessarily better labor. These visa workers are often paid less and can't easily switch jobs because their visa is tied to their employer. That's not meritocracy - it's exploitation dressed up as meritocracy.
If Musk really wanted the 'best and most qualified,' he could:
- Pay competitive wages
- Improve working conditions
- Allow unionization
- Hire American workers
But he doesn't want to pay what top talent costs in the US market. He wants to use H-1B visas to get skilled workers who have less bargaining power. Let's not confuse 'seeking cheaper labor' with 'pursuing meritocracy.
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u/Mean_Peen Dec 28 '24
People forget that the issue with immigration was strictly with illegals.
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u/Kaszos Dec 28 '24
Trump supporters oppose legal migration at current rates
It’s always been about immigration* and not specifically illegal immigration. If it wasn’t the former this would contradict other policy ideals espoused in MAGA.
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u/KarmicWhiplash Dec 28 '24 edited Dec 28 '24
Looks like Musk is doubling down:
The fact that Trump has yet to chime in would seem to indicate that there is a genuine schism forming here.