The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass the Chips and Science Act — but their persistent failure to unite behind common-sense, bipartisan reforms to bring more skilled immigrants to the U.S. puts this notable achievement in jeopardy.
“Congress passed the law in 2022 to revive domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reduce dependence on fabrication plants (aka fabs) in East Asia. On paper, the initiative is already a success: Nearly $30 billion in subsidies and $25 billion in loans have been awarded, supporting investments of roughly $350 billion. One industry-sponsored study expects U.S. chipmaking capacity to triple by 2032, with output of advanced logic chips rising from zero in 2022 to 28 percent of global production.
“To build and run those manufacturing centers, however, companies need workers the U.S. doesn’t have. Shortages of skilled installers of hyper-precise chipmaking equipment have already delayed projects. The number of Americans studying in relevant graduate programs has been flat for 30 years. A third of current fab workers are 55 and older, and more than half say they’re eager to quit. The Semiconductor Industry Association says chipmakers will face a shortfall of 67,000 skilled workers by 2030.
“Congress needs to weigh the consequences. Companies that can’t scale up will demand additional subsidies or shift production to Taiwan and Japan. As domestic production struggles, the problem might get worse. . . . The hoped-for benefits — U.S. technological leadership and enhanced national security — will come to nothing. . . .
“The current immigration pipeline is no use. The much-maligned H-1B program is hugely oversubscribed every year. Caps on visas plus limits per country mean applicants from India, the likeliest source of new semiconductor workers, can wait decades for their status to be resolved. . . .
“Many in Congress are proud of the Chips Act. If they ignore the skilled-worker shortage, it will become an embarrassment.” – U.S. Chip Dreams Will Fade Without More Immigrants, Marin Independent Journal, Editorial, 8/5/24 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: This article is just another rehash of the tiresome propaganda that we have shortage of people in science, technology, engineering, and technology (STEM) which requires us to import unending numbers of foreigners to fill positions in those fields. Otherwise, so this tale goes, we will lag behind in innovation and development. One question. What is the necessary connection between innovation and immigration? Are we to assume that native-born Americans are somehow less talented and intelligent than the foreigners that we need to import.
This certainly wasn’t the case roughly between 1920 to 1970 when immigration was significantly restricted. During that span of a half-century our innovation and creativity soared as we became the world’s leader in technology and development. Why can’t we do that again. predominately with our own people? Surely within our current population of 330 million there must enough talented individuals to meet our STEM needs. And certainly we have enough institutions to train these people.
The proof we don’t have a STEM worker shortage is the fact that two-thirds of Americans with college STEM degrees end up working in other fields. Commonly the reason is that U.S. employers prefer to hire foreign workers, particularly those on temporary visas, because they can pay them less than citizens and make them put up with more difficult working conditions.
We can attract a capable native-born STEM workforce if we allow wages to rise by cutting immigration, and by ending discrimination against American workers. The shortage we truly suffer is a shortfall of businesses and employers who care about their fellow citizens.