Upon Closer Inspection

When I first saw the title of this piece by Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, dismissing concerns about students from China as potential spies, what jumped out was the phrase foreign-born. Not “foreign students,” but “foreign-born students.” As I’ve written before, the wording is deliberate, apparently a PR move motivated by concern that the word foreign evokes … Read moreColumbia University Pres. Dismisses Concerns about Foreign Students

Nice analysis by David North on coverage by the NYT and SJ Mercury News regarding the Optional Practical Training program, under which international students can work for 1-3 years after graduation (counted as part of their foreign student visa). Note in particular the item on the “fleet-of-foot Yale University.” I would take issue with David … Read moreAll That Glitters Is Not Gold

Very unsettling story in the Kansas City Star. An international student from India at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, while apparently working illegally at a nearby fast-food restaurant owned by an Indian-American, was shot to death by a would-be robber. Unfortunately, the first instinct of the chancellor of the university, fearing the feds would … Read moreA Tragedy and an Appalling Coverup

Prominent libertarian writer Stephen Moore recently wrote an op-ed lavishing praise on the H-1B work visa program, “…arguably the most successful [immigration program] for the U.S. economy has been the H-1B program.” A strong statement even for a libertarian, reminiscent of physicist Michio Kaku’s calling H-1B “our secret weapon” for US world economic leadership. Now  … Read moreCorrecting the Corrector

A friend called my attention to an article, “The Plight of the Graying Tech Worker,” by Prof. Bill Kerr of HSB. Most economists writing on a controversial topic will rather (or very) strongly on one side or the other. On H-1B, Bill is pro-, as evidenced by a string of published papers, as well as … Read moreThe Old (Age 35) American Software Developer

I’ve written for years now that the political winds would increasingly blow in the direction of enactment of some form of Staple-a-Green Card policy, under which STEM foreign students in the US would receive automatic green cards. I’ve made these points: The consequences of Staple would be disastrous. It would flood an already-overfull labor market … Read moreChickens Coming Home to Roost on Staple-a-Green-Card

Back during the Obama administration, the Dept. of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs starting bring suits against some major tech industry players regarding various discrimination charges, in many cases related to the H-1B work visa. Remarkably, OFCCP has been able to continue this work under the Trump administration. Their latest move is even … Read moreDOL OFCCP Against Oracle

My post title here is of course Deng Xiaoping’s slogan celebrating the opening of China’s economy to private enterprise. It is also an allusion to the tendency of prominent academic economists to line their pockets by serving as (typically secret) “hired guns” for controversial entities, be they corporations, trade groups or nations. Alan Tonelson’s latest … Read moreTo Get Rich Is Glorious

Last Wednesday at 10 pm, I decided to check the TV news. Here’s what I found: The Chinese-language channel KTSF led with the latest on Canada’s arrest of Huawei’s CFO, with a US request to extradite; the local English station KTVU (Fox, but liberal) led with the Bush funeral; and CNN…well of course, it was … Read moreUS Media Missing the BIG News

Sorry, everyone, but this will be another “Told ya so!” post, commentary on yesterday’s unanimous jury decision in favor of Tata Consultancy Services, finding that TCS does not discriminate against US workers. I’ve long warned activist critics of the H-1B work visa program that they were shooting themselves in the foot with their obsession with … Read moreMaking Things Worse

I’ve often wondered what Nobel laureates “do for an encore.” Are they content to do mundane work? Or do they step up their work as public intellectuals? Maybe just enjoy their reign as deans of their fields? Thus I read with interest yesterday’s Wall Street Journal op-ed, “Government Can Do More to Support Science and … Read morePaul Romer Is Computer Illiterate?

Right after Donald Trump won in 2016, I wrote a post here titled, “Suggested ‘First Things First’ for Trump.” Given that he has no idea who I am, and my being a Democrat who voted for Bernie, I had no delusions that he’d heed my advice. But still…I must say that my comments might have been … Read moreTold Ya So!

Many in the world see us Americans as being obsessed about race. Today, for instance, a journalist and book author whom I admire (and have praised here) tweeted that the only reason people, indeed “progressive” ones!, voted for Trump was that they are racist. In certain circles, the “R word” seems to be the default … Read moreTech Workers Group Takes a Wrong Turn

For a number of reasons, I looked forward to Nicole Chung’s new memoir, All You Can Ever Know, about growing up as a transracial adoptee in an all-white US town. The book did not disappoint, a beautifully written and highly moving account. (Chung does not name the town, just stating it is in southern Oregon, … Read moreBook review: All You Can Ever Know, by N. Chung

But what about the Kavanaugh case? Warning: If you are a Republican, you won’t like my conclusion, and you won’t like my reasons. If you are a Democrat, you’ll like my conclusion, but you won’t like my reasons either. About 10 days ago, I wrote on Twitter that I believe that both Ford and Kavanaugh … Read moreNo One Asked Me, But…