Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

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“… The debate broke out late last week on social media as Mr. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy defended the legal, high-skill H-1B visa program from critics who want to sharply reduce even legal immigration. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Mr. Trump told the New York Post. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

Mr. Trump may be confusing the H-1B program with the H-2B visas he has used for workers at his hotel properties. But the point is that both are legal programs that help to fill labor needs in the U.S. economy. Unlike illegal migration, these programs don’t offend the rule of law or risk importing criminals.

… Some critics say H-1B visas let companies pay less than U.S. workers earn, but under the law employers must pay H-1B visa holders the higher of the prevailing wage or actual wage paid to comparable U.S. workers. Mr. Anderson says the average annual salary for an H-1B visa holder in 2023 for computer-related jobs was $132,000, according to U.S. immigration data. This isn’t exploitation of cheap labor. [MyNote — it is a bit more complicated when you factor in expected hours worked and inability to switch jobs]

… Some conservatives want to define nationalism solely by geography and ethnicity. But the U.S. has thrived because it has invited talented newcomers from many nations who add to U.S. strength and vitality. This is intelligent nationalism of the kind we assume Mr. Trump wants. …”
 
nycfan said:


“… The debate broke out late last week on social media as Mr. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy defended the legal, high-skill H-1B visa program from critics who want to sharply reduce even legal immigration. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Mr. Trump told the New York Post. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

Mr. Trump may be confusing the H-1B program with the H-2B visas he has used for workers at his hotel properties. But the point is that both are legal programs that help to fill labor needs in the U.S. economy. Unlike illegal migration, these programs don’t offend the rule of law or risk importing criminals.

… Some critics say H-1B visas let companies pay less than U.S. workers earn, but under the law employers must pay H-1B visa holders the higher of the prevailing wage or actual wage paid to comparable U.S. workers. Mr. Anderson says the average annual salary for an H-1B visa holder in 2023 for computer-related jobs was $132,000, according to U.S. immigration data. This isn’t exploitation of cheap labor. [MyNote — it is a bit more complicated when you factor in expected hours worked and inability to switch jobs]

… Some conservatives want to define nationalism solely by geography and ethnicity. But the U.S. has thrived because it has invited talented newcomers from many nations who add to U.S. strength and vitality. This is intelligent nationalism of the kind we assume Mr. Trump wants. …”
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Also worth noting that for things like data science, ML/AI engineering and senior software engineers, $132k is not very much.
 
nycfan said:


“… The debate broke out late last week on social media as Mr. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy defended the legal, high-skill H-1B visa program from critics who want to sharply reduce even legal immigration. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Mr. Trump told the New York Post. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

Mr. Trump may be confusing the H-1B program with the H-2B visas he has used for workers at his hotel properties. But the point is that both are legal programs that help to fill labor needs in the U.S. economy. Unlike illegal migration, these programs don’t offend the rule of law or risk importing criminals.

… Some critics say H-1B visas let companies pay less than U.S. workers earn, but under the law employers must pay H-1B visa holders the higher of the prevailing wage or actual wage paid to comparable U.S. workers. Mr. Anderson says the average annual salary for an H-1B visa holder in 2023 for computer-related jobs was $132,000, according to U.S. immigration data. This isn’t exploitation of cheap labor. [MyNote — it is a bit more complicated when you factor in expected hours worked and inability to switch jobs]

… Some conservatives want to define nationalism solely by geography and ethnicity. But the U.S. has thrived because it has invited talented newcomers from many nations who add to U.S. strength and vitality. This is intelligent nationalism of the kind we assume Mr. Trump wants. …”
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Shocking that WSJ would come down on the side of business in this dispute. Never saw that coming.
 
I just ran across something in a book I was reading that made me look this up. Seemed like it belonged on a thread so much about information gathering and transfer. When the Library of Congress was established in 1800, it had 740 books and 3 maps. I get the feeling the Founding Fathers might be staggered by what's available today and maybe even confused.
 
altmin said:
www.theguardian.com

Bleak outlook for US farmers – and Trump tariffs could make it worse

Bumper grain crop set to weigh heavily as farmers count costs of seed, fertilizer – and effects of possible trade war
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Many US midwestern grain farmers will lose money this year after reaping a bumper crop, and the outlook for their future income is bleak.

US farmers harvested some of the largest corn and soybean crops in history this year. Big harvests traditionally weigh on crop prices because of plentiful supply. And those price pressures comes at a time when costs remain persistently high to grow corn and soybeans, the US’s most valuable crops.


That double whammy is hurting farmers. Income will vary per farmer and per state, yet even for producers in top agricultural states such as Illinois, losses could be staggering.

Agricultural economists from the University of Illinois and Ohio State University estimate that the average Illinois farm could make a loss of $30,000 for 2024. Their projections place farm incomes at the lowest level since the 1980s’ farm crisis led to bankruptcies.

The decks are stacked against farmers for 2025 as well. Costs for seed, fertilizer and other inputs rose during 2022, fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war, which also lifted crop prices to record highs.

While crop prices are down nearly 50% from those highs, in part due to a global supply glut, input prices remain elevated. Sterling Smith, an independent commodities researcher, says the national average break-even price for corn is $5.67 a bushel, and $12.72 a bushel for soybeans. Those levels are far above current Chicago Board of Trade most-active futures prices of $4.43 for corn and $9.76 for soybeans.

“We’re looking at this crop, that, when it gets planted, of being a money-loser next year,” Smith says.

And things could look worse for farmers if Donald Trump places tariffs on imports. Trump pledged to impose across-the-board tariffs of 20% on all US imports, with a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. Recently, he advocated for 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.

...

Until the first trade war between China and the US in 2018, China was the No 1 destination for US agricultural goods. That came to a halt during the trade war, although China and the US eventually signed an agreement in 2019 to import a set amount of agricultural goods for two years.

During the skirmish, China began diversifying its suppliers, including buying from Brazil. Brazil was already a global grower and exporter of soybeans, but Chinese investment ramped up expansion, Smith says.

“China is not going to put their food supply at risk,” Smith says.

Brazil increased their soybean production by the equivalent of an area the size of the state of Kansas, and some estimates suggest it has as much as 70m acres (28m hectares) of unused pastureland it can plant to crops, the equivalent of two states the size of Iowa.

Brazil can also grow the equivalent of two crops in one year, planting soybeans in September and after that harvest, quickly plant a corn crop, he says, increasing Brazilian corn production. If Brazil continues with its aggressive expansion and the US continues its traditional output, a global situation of habitual oversupply will result, especially for soybeans, Smith says.
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Hmmm, didn't the tariffs during his first administration impact the farmers?

This seems like another area where we really need to look for more balance, we need food producers, we should pay enough for them to stay in business and live. Of course, I believe we may also need to consider the actual crops. Why do we grow so many acres of these low-cost grain crops?
 
BlooVooDoo said:
Not gonna lie, I kinda hope farm bankruptcies triple over the next 4 years. Some as trade war casualties, others due to a lack of affordable labor.
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See this is where I have issues with the fuck around and find out position.

I just can't hope for people to struggle, but this is a case if they don't struggle, they will never learn. So, I'm torn.

Of course, farm bankruptcies probably only impact the family farms and not the corporate farms. We probably need to get rid of all subsidies and let the markets work for the farmers. If that means food prices go up, it's ok. You can't demand low food prices, and living wages for farmers, can you?
 


Not what Trump ran on but I agree with the broad strokes of what Pete Hegseth says here.
 
AlbionAmerican said:
NATO or European defense minus America is non-existent, it returns to everyone being for themselves again, and honestly at this stage in time there’s a decent chance Europe without America would fragment and Balkanize.
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ever heard of the european union? god, it boggles the mind some of the stupid shit that gets posted here.

how can they separate and go off on their own when they share a common currency? did you see how hard brexit was? and how stupid and destructive? brexit was easy compared to, say, a frexit.
 
Our military spending and commitments spearhead our nuclear and anti-proliferation strategy. If you reduce our commitments and spend, you have to accept that you will live in a world with several more nuclear powers. The fact that that is already happening (North Korea, Iran, KSA) doesn't make this strategy less relevant - it just increases dramatically the complexity of the situation every time a new nation that joins the club...

You have to manage this carefully and over decades - this is one issue where you can't FAFO.
 
Huh? said:
Our military spending and commitments spearhead our nuclear and anti-proliferation strategy. If you reduce our commitments and spend, you have to accept that you will live in a world with several more nuclear powers. The fact that that is already happening (North Korea, Iran, KSA) doesn't make this strategy less relevant - it just increases dramatically the complexity of the situation every time a new nation that joins the club...

You have to manage this carefully and over decades - this is one issue where you can't FAFO.
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ksa? i havent heard about that.
 
nycfan said:


Not what Trump ran on but I agree with the broad strokes of what Pete Hegseth says here.
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i would also agree with him if he said the sky was blue.

i think you are reaching here. "backing our allies and standing up to enemies" is more tautology than policy. it's literally what you have to do with allies, or else they aren't allies. you dont have to stand up to enemies but that is usually the point of having them. i don't know that this guy should get credit for asserting a=a. that trump thinks a=whatever the fuck trump wants is too low a bar for comparison.
 
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