I worked as an engineer at a very large auto company until I recently retired. I have a sister who is in engineering management in a similar area - different vehicles but very similar engineering needs. It had become obvious to me we were replacing outgoing engineers with imports from India and to a lesser extent China via the H1B visa. It so happened that she was also involved in hiring new engineers and her area was growing quite a lot.
We were going around and around on the H1B issue one time and she made the case that we couldn't find enough 'talent' so we had to go outside the US. I pressed her on this and she pointed out that it was difficult to compete with tech companies (and other auto firms) for engineers because, in large part, they paid more money. So I suggested we compete for those engineers by offering higher salaries! Seemed straightforward! Then the mask slipped. She said we didn't have the budget to pay higher salaries to new engineers. We needed more engineers, but the budget for them was shrinking annually. You don't have to be Elon or Vivek to see where this fairly simple math leads.
This system has to be gutted - and soon. It is the job of congress to fix this. But, they don't do anything without clearing it through you know who. And they will bend to his will without much resistance. I'm curious to see where Mr. Trump's loyalties really lie. This will be an interesting issue to follow.
Btw - What's particularly frustrating is that this is a company that hemorrhages billions of dollars a year in warranty costs. It is, by far, the industry leader there. But, it's easier to reduce dollars/engineer to save pennies than solve the ongoing quality issues and save billions.
The problem of merchants making poor political leaders goes all the way back to the American founding. Thomas Jefferson put it best: "Merchants have no country. the mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. in every country and in every age." Words that ring even more true in our era of globalized everything.
He lays into lawyers too, which I get. Can't agree with his criticism of priests, but that's Jefferson for you. We didn't really have "investment bankers" or "venture capital" or "hedge funds" in 1813, but I'm sure he would have choice words for them too.
I think it's good news for everyone, American or otherwise, that Vivek is a hopelessly self-detonating idiot. I'll stop short of calling curtain on his political career since far worse missteps and outright crimes have not resulted in politicians' career demise in this country, but he's tracking well so far. I'm a firm believer in trusting people when they tell us who they are, but I'm also - demonstrably - in a minority, so we'll see how this particular village idiot fares; but let it not go unsaid that he didn't have even a single stage, preceding his current gestation into a full-blown Anti-American, in which he at least sounded sane, so what we're seeing now is what we've always been seeing. It's just that a whole shitton of people decided that, like his bosses, he's probably less insane than his public persona indicates (a risky flight of fancy when you're electing public officials)
Well done. I was curious about him - he seemed to talk a good game, selling himself as a STEM-adjacent entrepreneur. But, he's never really created anything except profits by, essentially, buying and selling patents. I dunno. To me, he's proven himself to be just another Wall Street type. He made profits, not things.
"He made profits, not things" - and people routinely conflate these two when assessing success. The thing is, people in this country venerate wealth as a direct and ineffable proxy for expertise, and *that* mental disorder will not soon be fixed.
Like some others here perhaps, I've been waiting for Oren to recognize that the defeat of the feckless liberals did not mean that Trump, MAGA or the wider GOP was likely to pursue the perspective on the economy and working class that Oren (rightly, in my view) is trying to advance. Trump ruined the GOP and perhaps that was necessary. He has ruined the Democrats, and perhaps that was also necessary. As Patrick Deneen and many others have been pointing out, the libertarian marketplace ideology on the right and the radically autonomous, self-created individual ideology on the left are two sides of the same coin, both destructive of the common good. Yes, we live in a dying political order that has been collapsing before our eyes since at least 9/11. Okay, yay for those who recognize this. However, death has consequences. We have now arrived at the moment where we are left only with Trump himself, a rolling stone of chaos, contradictions and belligerence. And of course Elon, Vivek, Hegseth, Patel, Kennedy, Gabbard and all the rest whom he will draw into the vacuum. I hope Oren continues his quest, but also continues to recognize that the next passage on the way to a different, perhaps better political order, is going to involve a terrible reckoning.
I’m stocking up on popcorn. The dawning of reality upon Oren et al has just begun, and it will be fun to watch. There is virtually zero chance that Don actually believes in, or has the competence to implement, the immigration and tariff regimes he pseudo espouses. Anyone remember the wall Mexico was gonna pay for? The pet eating Haitians? And now, Elon and Vivek:) It’s so delicious. This is just the latest in a lifetime of lies and grifts for Don. Tariffs provide unending opportunity to shake down corporate America, it’s begun already and he isn’t even in office. Deportations are just around the corner. We’ll soon see if the big talk amounts to more than some chest beating and photo ops, let alone congressional passage of a comprehensive immigration reform policy. Only the most cultish among us can’t see the history that is repeating-Don cares first, and only, about himself.
Today is January 6th. Rather than pining for an immigration policy that will never materialize, I suggest we keep our eye on the ball. Do we actually need more proof of Don’s character and motives than his fomenting of an armed insurrection leading to the first non-peaceful transfer of power in the nations history? It was an attack on the most precious of our institutions, and it was the worst act ever committed by an American president. Here is a prediction, we’ll see pardons of Don’s “January 6th choir” (yes, it exists, and opened his campaign rallies) long before we see a serious attempt at reforming our immigration system. Good luck America.
My kid graduates from a selective engineering school this May as a Computer Science major, his prospects are dim, he is taking a job that pays not much better than fast food and requires almost none of what he has learned. For every graduate of a good engineering school there are fifty from a regular state college. America has tons of tech looking for a job, hundreds of job applications without replies.
How exactly are we to bust out of the confines of class when paying for a kid to get the education you never had isn't enough.
This and the linked essay are just excellent. I appreciate Oren's concise exposure of economic handwaving and dogma. The kicker in the linked essay about the purpose of an economy is the fundamental missing piece in American Culture. Americans have been brainwashed to accept the handwaving of the last 60 years. This is due in large part to the efforts of the Koch machine over that time period. Credit to them, they have been amazingly successful in their cause. Too bad it is so fundamentally wrong and has been so destructive.
What if the common understanding of Americans were: "Good and dignified jobs that allow workers to support their families and communities are not a hoped-for byproduct of a healthy economy, they are its purpose. Gains in consumption and material living standards are desirable as well, but cheaper prices through lower wages is a losing proposition for affected families and the nation as a whole."? (from Oren's linked essay) That seems to me to be another expression of the line in Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "a government of the people, by the people, for the People".
Has it perished? Do we have that now? We have government of the people by the financial elite, for the financial elite (Elon). The government Lincoln's address aspires to would implement an economy that supports workers and families and communities. The structure of our government, per se, is not the problem. It is corruption of the political parties and the political system and the law by the power of wealth of the financial elite that is the problem. There is no other plausible explanation.
Another fundamental understanding Americans seem to miss is that wealth IS power. That despite the amazing displays of it we frequently witness. The only peaceful counter to that power in our system is democracy. The one Lincoln invoked and Oren implies. The power of wealth MUST be demolished. It must be turned to the good of all citizens and away from just the elite. (vetted and approved corporate charters for example) The actual smart people in the financial elite will recognize that goal as enlightened self interest. The rest will remain Libertarians, howling in a three year old's self pity.
As a practical matter this discussion comes down to counting votes in Congress and structuring a coalition supporting the American Compass approach.
This strikes me as an issue that a faction of the Democratic Party should support. Then again, having tried and failed to get my own progressive congressman interested in American Compass, should may not translate to would.
I would be curious to know what the state of the art is in that regard? Has American Compass developed any support within the Democratic Party? Does American Compass have the ability to lobby members of Congress? Given the enormous lobbying industry in Washington DC and the new-kid-on-the-block status of American Compass, what are the means of persuasion realistically available to it?
This is going to be an unpopular post, but if we go back to the basic structure of societies, there once was time where the vast majority of "jobs" (more properly "work") was physical, outdoors, strenuous, needing long hours, etc. As our ingenuity increased the so-called productivity increased. Would slavery have ended on its own because of the machinery coming on line? Have small farms been destroyed by the "seed cost" of the machinery needed to have market-competitive yields? There are many other scenarios which could be questioned and expounded upon here. The problem of low wage labor, if focused on the cost of food alone (which seems to be a political theme beaten to death constantly), misses the true factors contributing to disparity across "classes" in our so-called classless society. The factor of housing, whether in rent or ownership, is what really creates "homelessness." The price of medicine, health care, procedures, etc., creates a gap between those able to (or "inclined to," and that's whole other matter beginning with our low-quality educational system) save and have "emergency" systems in place for unforeseen expenses. The oft-used example of "?% of households are a $400 car repair bill from bankruptcy" might move one to ask: "How has the increased productivity in the auto industry coupled with the technical sophistication in repair options benefited the so-called average person who used to change their own oil or work on their cars?" Are not cars engineered and made with the intent to force all repairs into the high-cost dealerships? Now I'm not meaning to be a Luddite, but the pace and isolation of change blows by many. Our "problem" of low-wage jobs crosses so many facets of our culture that are rarely addressed beyond slogans in the political news media. And...still, people from the so-called "third world" who come from countries with extremely poor systems of government, where "force" and lawlessness rule, flock here, unprepared culturally to assimilate to OUR society, will come and accept the low wage work that may be afforded them. We count in "dollars," but it's not the only thing that counts and not all that needs to be considered. We are de facto, "an asset-driven society" and if you can't participate in the ownership of assets your life falls into the hand-to-mouth lifestyle that no one wants to be subject to. My thoughts here are (unfortunately) pretty "buckshot," but a single government program will not solve anything as the problem is many-tiered across many interest groups, all vying for power and influence. And our elected officials are hardly up to the challenges we face to alleviate some of the conundrums. Thanks for reading (if you got to here).
Each YEAR, a total of 85,000 H-1B visas are issued.
In the MONTH of September 2024, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000.
Junk news. Fake news. Hate news.
By ignoring how small the number of H-1B visas are to total new hires, the data is conflated to produce content. You gotta have something to sell to those eyeballs every day!
Great information in your article but it’s interesting how you don’t talk about how the rePUGliCON caucus has made it their mission to NOT EDUCATE AMERICANS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. So if ppl would stop voting republican maybe our smart ppl would get better education and then get better jobs.
The other Christmas problem was Musk doing foreign policy. While I agree with him about the uselessness of the UK and Germany, he needs to stay in his lane. DOGE is to important to risk distraction or worse.
I worked as an engineer at a very large auto company until I recently retired. I have a sister who is in engineering management in a similar area - different vehicles but very similar engineering needs. It had become obvious to me we were replacing outgoing engineers with imports from India and to a lesser extent China via the H1B visa. It so happened that she was also involved in hiring new engineers and her area was growing quite a lot.
We were going around and around on the H1B issue one time and she made the case that we couldn't find enough 'talent' so we had to go outside the US. I pressed her on this and she pointed out that it was difficult to compete with tech companies (and other auto firms) for engineers because, in large part, they paid more money. So I suggested we compete for those engineers by offering higher salaries! Seemed straightforward! Then the mask slipped. She said we didn't have the budget to pay higher salaries to new engineers. We needed more engineers, but the budget for them was shrinking annually. You don't have to be Elon or Vivek to see where this fairly simple math leads.
This system has to be gutted - and soon. It is the job of congress to fix this. But, they don't do anything without clearing it through you know who. And they will bend to his will without much resistance. I'm curious to see where Mr. Trump's loyalties really lie. This will be an interesting issue to follow.
Btw - What's particularly frustrating is that this is a company that hemorrhages billions of dollars a year in warranty costs. It is, by far, the industry leader there. But, it's easier to reduce dollars/engineer to save pennies than solve the ongoing quality issues and save billions.
The problem of merchants making poor political leaders goes all the way back to the American founding. Thomas Jefferson put it best: "Merchants have no country. the mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. in every country and in every age." Words that ring even more true in our era of globalized everything.
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-07-02-0167
He lays into lawyers too, which I get. Can't agree with his criticism of priests, but that's Jefferson for you. We didn't really have "investment bankers" or "venture capital" or "hedge funds" in 1813, but I'm sure he would have choice words for them too.
I think it's good news for everyone, American or otherwise, that Vivek is a hopelessly self-detonating idiot. I'll stop short of calling curtain on his political career since far worse missteps and outright crimes have not resulted in politicians' career demise in this country, but he's tracking well so far. I'm a firm believer in trusting people when they tell us who they are, but I'm also - demonstrably - in a minority, so we'll see how this particular village idiot fares; but let it not go unsaid that he didn't have even a single stage, preceding his current gestation into a full-blown Anti-American, in which he at least sounded sane, so what we're seeing now is what we've always been seeing. It's just that a whole shitton of people decided that, like his bosses, he's probably less insane than his public persona indicates (a risky flight of fancy when you're electing public officials)
'Vivek is a hopelessly self-detonating idiot'
Well done. I was curious about him - he seemed to talk a good game, selling himself as a STEM-adjacent entrepreneur. But, he's never really created anything except profits by, essentially, buying and selling patents. I dunno. To me, he's proven himself to be just another Wall Street type. He made profits, not things.
"He made profits, not things" - and people routinely conflate these two when assessing success. The thing is, people in this country venerate wealth as a direct and ineffable proxy for expertise, and *that* mental disorder will not soon be fixed.
Like some others here perhaps, I've been waiting for Oren to recognize that the defeat of the feckless liberals did not mean that Trump, MAGA or the wider GOP was likely to pursue the perspective on the economy and working class that Oren (rightly, in my view) is trying to advance. Trump ruined the GOP and perhaps that was necessary. He has ruined the Democrats, and perhaps that was also necessary. As Patrick Deneen and many others have been pointing out, the libertarian marketplace ideology on the right and the radically autonomous, self-created individual ideology on the left are two sides of the same coin, both destructive of the common good. Yes, we live in a dying political order that has been collapsing before our eyes since at least 9/11. Okay, yay for those who recognize this. However, death has consequences. We have now arrived at the moment where we are left only with Trump himself, a rolling stone of chaos, contradictions and belligerence. And of course Elon, Vivek, Hegseth, Patel, Kennedy, Gabbard and all the rest whom he will draw into the vacuum. I hope Oren continues his quest, but also continues to recognize that the next passage on the way to a different, perhaps better political order, is going to involve a terrible reckoning.
I’m stocking up on popcorn. The dawning of reality upon Oren et al has just begun, and it will be fun to watch. There is virtually zero chance that Don actually believes in, or has the competence to implement, the immigration and tariff regimes he pseudo espouses. Anyone remember the wall Mexico was gonna pay for? The pet eating Haitians? And now, Elon and Vivek:) It’s so delicious. This is just the latest in a lifetime of lies and grifts for Don. Tariffs provide unending opportunity to shake down corporate America, it’s begun already and he isn’t even in office. Deportations are just around the corner. We’ll soon see if the big talk amounts to more than some chest beating and photo ops, let alone congressional passage of a comprehensive immigration reform policy. Only the most cultish among us can’t see the history that is repeating-Don cares first, and only, about himself.
Today is January 6th. Rather than pining for an immigration policy that will never materialize, I suggest we keep our eye on the ball. Do we actually need more proof of Don’s character and motives than his fomenting of an armed insurrection leading to the first non-peaceful transfer of power in the nations history? It was an attack on the most precious of our institutions, and it was the worst act ever committed by an American president. Here is a prediction, we’ll see pardons of Don’s “January 6th choir” (yes, it exists, and opened his campaign rallies) long before we see a serious attempt at reforming our immigration system. Good luck America.
My kid graduates from a selective engineering school this May as a Computer Science major, his prospects are dim, he is taking a job that pays not much better than fast food and requires almost none of what he has learned. For every graduate of a good engineering school there are fifty from a regular state college. America has tons of tech looking for a job, hundreds of job applications without replies.
How exactly are we to bust out of the confines of class when paying for a kid to get the education you never had isn't enough.
This and the linked essay are just excellent. I appreciate Oren's concise exposure of economic handwaving and dogma. The kicker in the linked essay about the purpose of an economy is the fundamental missing piece in American Culture. Americans have been brainwashed to accept the handwaving of the last 60 years. This is due in large part to the efforts of the Koch machine over that time period. Credit to them, they have been amazingly successful in their cause. Too bad it is so fundamentally wrong and has been so destructive.
What if the common understanding of Americans were: "Good and dignified jobs that allow workers to support their families and communities are not a hoped-for byproduct of a healthy economy, they are its purpose. Gains in consumption and material living standards are desirable as well, but cheaper prices through lower wages is a losing proposition for affected families and the nation as a whole."? (from Oren's linked essay) That seems to me to be another expression of the line in Lincoln's Gettysburg address, "a government of the people, by the people, for the People".
Has it perished? Do we have that now? We have government of the people by the financial elite, for the financial elite (Elon). The government Lincoln's address aspires to would implement an economy that supports workers and families and communities. The structure of our government, per se, is not the problem. It is corruption of the political parties and the political system and the law by the power of wealth of the financial elite that is the problem. There is no other plausible explanation.
Another fundamental understanding Americans seem to miss is that wealth IS power. That despite the amazing displays of it we frequently witness. The only peaceful counter to that power in our system is democracy. The one Lincoln invoked and Oren implies. The power of wealth MUST be demolished. It must be turned to the good of all citizens and away from just the elite. (vetted and approved corporate charters for example) The actual smart people in the financial elite will recognize that goal as enlightened self interest. The rest will remain Libertarians, howling in a three year old's self pity.
As a practical matter this discussion comes down to counting votes in Congress and structuring a coalition supporting the American Compass approach.
This strikes me as an issue that a faction of the Democratic Party should support. Then again, having tried and failed to get my own progressive congressman interested in American Compass, should may not translate to would.
I would be curious to know what the state of the art is in that regard? Has American Compass developed any support within the Democratic Party? Does American Compass have the ability to lobby members of Congress? Given the enormous lobbying industry in Washington DC and the new-kid-on-the-block status of American Compass, what are the means of persuasion realistically available to it?
Perfectly written. Silicon Valley has only ever produced poison and societal rot. Vivek must be ostracized from American society
This is going to be an unpopular post, but if we go back to the basic structure of societies, there once was time where the vast majority of "jobs" (more properly "work") was physical, outdoors, strenuous, needing long hours, etc. As our ingenuity increased the so-called productivity increased. Would slavery have ended on its own because of the machinery coming on line? Have small farms been destroyed by the "seed cost" of the machinery needed to have market-competitive yields? There are many other scenarios which could be questioned and expounded upon here. The problem of low wage labor, if focused on the cost of food alone (which seems to be a political theme beaten to death constantly), misses the true factors contributing to disparity across "classes" in our so-called classless society. The factor of housing, whether in rent or ownership, is what really creates "homelessness." The price of medicine, health care, procedures, etc., creates a gap between those able to (or "inclined to," and that's whole other matter beginning with our low-quality educational system) save and have "emergency" systems in place for unforeseen expenses. The oft-used example of "?% of households are a $400 car repair bill from bankruptcy" might move one to ask: "How has the increased productivity in the auto industry coupled with the technical sophistication in repair options benefited the so-called average person who used to change their own oil or work on their cars?" Are not cars engineered and made with the intent to force all repairs into the high-cost dealerships? Now I'm not meaning to be a Luddite, but the pace and isolation of change blows by many. Our "problem" of low-wage jobs crosses so many facets of our culture that are rarely addressed beyond slogans in the political news media. And...still, people from the so-called "third world" who come from countries with extremely poor systems of government, where "force" and lawlessness rule, flock here, unprepared culturally to assimilate to OUR society, will come and accept the low wage work that may be afforded them. We count in "dollars," but it's not the only thing that counts and not all that needs to be considered. We are de facto, "an asset-driven society" and if you can't participate in the ownership of assets your life falls into the hand-to-mouth lifestyle that no one wants to be subject to. My thoughts here are (unfortunately) pretty "buckshot," but a single government program will not solve anything as the problem is many-tiered across many interest groups, all vying for power and influence. And our elected officials are hardly up to the challenges we face to alleviate some of the conundrums. Thanks for reading (if you got to here).
Each YEAR, a total of 85,000 H-1B visas are issued.
In the MONTH of September 2024, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000.
Junk news. Fake news. Hate news.
By ignoring how small the number of H-1B visas are to total new hires, the data is conflated to produce content. You gotta have something to sell to those eyeballs every day!
Well said. Oren and Batya are the two most effective voices out there.
Great information in your article but it’s interesting how you don’t talk about how the rePUGliCON caucus has made it their mission to NOT EDUCATE AMERICANS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. So if ppl would stop voting republican maybe our smart ppl would get better education and then get better jobs.
The other Christmas problem was Musk doing foreign policy. While I agree with him about the uselessness of the UK and Germany, he needs to stay in his lane. DOGE is to important to risk distraction or worse.
Btw doge is not a thing. These assholes made it up so poor Elmo would have something to do other than destroy more of his companies.