From a few hours ago
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/musk-vivek-ramaswamy-h1b-visa-maga-immigration-what-to-know/
Musk and Ramaswamy's views have sparked an online spat between factions of Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry, whose businesses rely on the H-1B visa to bring in thousands of foreign engineers and other skilled workers each year from India, China and other nations.
The tech industry has long called for more H-1B visas to attract highly skilled workers to the U.S., although Trump's first administration restricted the program in 2020, arguing that it allows businesses to replace Americans with lower-paid foreign workers.
That debate has again erupted after Musk, himself once on an H-1B visa and whose electric vehicle company Tesla has hired workers using the program, defended the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. Ramaswamy, for his part, wrote in an X post that American culture "has venerated mediocrity over excellence," leading to a nation that does "not produce the best engineers."
"There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley," Musk wrote on Dec. 25 on X, his social media app.
The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump's selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S.
Loomer declared the stance to be "not America First policy" and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves.
Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks, whom Trump has tapped to be the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government, defended the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers.
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What if Musk dumped a shitload of money into Trump’s campaign and whispered sweet nothings into his ear, so that he could stop Trump from restricting H-1Bs, and even increase the number coming in? What if Vivek joined in for similar reasons?
Musk is trying to shut down California’s high-speed initiatives, he and Vivek want some loans or grants given to other EV makers rescinded, he wants to increase government contracts to SpaceX, he wants the EPA scaled back or ditched so they’d get off his back, and so on, and so forth.
All of the sudden people are discovering that a billionaire oligarch wants to do things that benefit himself?