Not all STEM is created equal. While there may not be thousands and thousands of jobs for a biology PhD, there are over 1 million open software/IT jobs. The good paying jobs are focused on what we value as a society. Clearly we value tweets and tiktoks and apps on mobile. We don't value teachers and nurses and lots of other essential jobs. If we want change, that is where we need to focus; find a way to value contributors to society.
That is how capitalism works. Profitability (yield on capital, exclusively for investors) trumps whether the activity is economic (Wirtschaftlichkeit in German) (i.e. maximize net capital growth per dollar of spending, for the entire economy). In fact, the latter is highly efficient yet we live in a system where capital has the ultimate say and it demands unreasonable yields that employers pass on in the form of terrible pay and working conditions and higher prices to consumers.
We already have, it is called paying them more (and/or increasing quality of life at work such as shorter work hours, or remote work, etc). Generally, people do not like higher taxes though.
Is it just me or is the rampant abuse of the H1B system absolutely prolific but a sort of hush topic in SV? The more I see the hiring from the inside the more obvious the exploitation seems. I would really like some context from someone with a more positive view of the subject as it is really souring me to current management methodologies from a nationalistic perspective at least within my filter bubble.
Let me burn up my hard-earned karma to answer your question honestly. I hope you catch this before it’s flagged and downvoted into oblivion
Yes, the H1B system is grossly abused. Yes, it is a hush-hush topic in Silicon Valley and on this site.
The evidence is right there in front of us. 40 years ago, the USA was the clear leader in technology. We had no trouble producing both factory workers and tech geniuses. We were literally the envy of the world. Doctors were paid more than they are now, we made our own cars from scratch, and our press pretended not to be partisan a lot of the time.
Other countries got smart and started sending their students here, in the cases of countries like China, as official acts in their national interest.
Along with the H1B visa problem, the US has been leading in massive numbers of immigrants, legal and illegal, who are not asked to respect citizenship in their own country. Imagine China, Denmark, Iceland, or Japan doing something like that. It would be unthinkable to them.
The biggest villain is of course the citizens of the United States. They no longer encourage their children to tackle Issues that may be difficult for them or that may make them feel bad as they struggle to learn. They no longer regard the founding principles as unique and precious, which they most certainly are. They no longer view the United States as uniquely suited to help move the world forward in civil rights or ingenuity.
And finally, our political class doesn’t give a shit about citizens. Republicans and Democrats are equally rife with corruption and exist only to preserve their own power. The uniparty sends our children and our treasure to wars where no national interest is present. Our three letter institutions violate their own principles, the law, and the sovereignty of other countries routinely.
Anyone who has read the history of Rome or Britain or China can see where we are in the lifecycle of this special experiment called the United States of America. It is a tragedy not only for us, but for the rest of the world as well.
I appreciate the thoughtfulness and detail of your response very much. These are all things near and dear to my heart and it is very rough to feel, as you said, that we are in a very similar kind of spiral as the Roman and other empires have self-inflicted. I wish I knew what could be done but the whole system seems like a juggernaut unable to change in any significance, and hence hopeless and futile to resist, but alas, Plato rings in my ears: “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”
