We need to have a grown-up talk about the economy.
First, some background.
We had the H-1B visa blowup over the Christmas holiday, which our EIC handled with great aplomb. 👇
The argument from the Vivek types was that conservatives should be for mass immigration as long as it's legal because we need "high-skilled" labor that H1-B jobs guarantee.
Opening that can of worms made millions of Americans realize that actually, while some high-skilled workers come over on H-1B visas that's the exception, not the rule. Tens of thousands of foreigners are coming over with an Indian bachelor's degree in hand, willing to take American jobs for much less than Americans cost.
Well, conservatives took a break for the New Year, but this week, the fighting started again - this time dealing with PANDA EXPRESS.
No joke!
In one corner, we have the free-market types that have the pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps mentality.
Enter Chris Rufo (who I absolutely love and respect), who absolutely stepped in it with this hot take.
Young people who spent $50 or $60k getting a bachelor's in engineering should ... just shut up about not being able to work in their field while they are being undercut by foreign labor ... and get a job as a fry cook manager?
Auron MacIntyre's response was pretty brutal 👇
Matt Walsh, who I also love and respect (Sweet Daddy I call him sometimes), sided with Rufo on the econo-bro side of the argument:
After being challenged, Walsh added this and was Community Noted for his trouble.
Rufo also gave the example of top-end UPS employees, who have a six-figure salary (with benefits and all).
I love Rufo and Matt and many on this side of the argument, but they may just be a little disconnected from the normal working man.
Fast food is hard work - I did it for years for just over minimum wage. I respect those who work there and if that's your calling, go for it.
But the reality is that your average young man, especially one that has gone to college because they were told that was the way to get a better life, isn't going to be happy working at Panda Express or UPS for their careers. They want the opportunity to advance like every other generation before them.
Now, if you're a young millennial or zoomer, you may find yourself in fast food or delivery for your entire career, even after racking up tens of thousands in useless student debt, because Ahmed and Vijay have all the entry-level American jobs that one needs to start off in a career path.
Believe me, I know people like this.
That brings me to this important story:
This is not an uncommon experience. I personally know at least one good friend with such a tale.
This isn't a dunk on Chick-fil-A or the food industry, it's just a look at reality.
A reality that many telling young men to just "bite the bullet and work your way to the top" aren't aware of.
It's not 1975, or even 2005 anymore. The advancement opportunities have been cut off for many Americans, especially if they don't fit the "genderqueer Muslim woman of color" category.
The other aspect of reality is the insane leap in expenses the past few years. Have you seen the housing market? Have you seen the cost of rent? Have you seen how it's impossible to start a family on what would have been seen as luxuriant only a decade ago? $100,000/year is the new entry-level to life, not the measure of career success.
I've watched houses in my neck of the woods double and triple in cost in just the last 5 years. How are people supposed to start out as a GM of a fast food restaurant making $75k/year when starter homes start at over $300k?
And how are TENS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS supposed to become the GMs of fast food joints?
Will Tanner has another interesting look at today's economic reality that some of an earlier generation might comprehend better. 👇
That was 2011. Pre-Biden. Pre-Covid.
Things haven't exactly improved (despite the brief Trump bump).
Also, returning to Panda Express (I warned you that Panda Express is at the center of this controversy!):
Those are jobs that PANDA EXPRESS thinks are MISSION CRITICAL for the American economy; jobs that it MUST source from FOREIGN WORKERS.
Are Americans incapable of training other Americas to … microwave orange chicken and boil noodles?
It's just adding insult to injury at this point.
Even if Americans wanted to follow Rufo's advice, they can't!
I wouldn't attribute this ill-will to anyone. But it is perplexing how Walsh, Rufo, and other conservative thought leaders are fighting so hard to prop up the idea that Americans are just lazy or entitled because they want steady, six-figure jobs with 30-40 years' worth of career trajectory.
If you are an older American, think about this: Young Americans whose families have been here for generations and have advanced in each generation with new opportunities ... are taking a step backward for the first time in our nation's history.
No opportunities. No adventures. No risks to be taken. No hope of a better life. Just stagnation.
They are being relegated to jobs they could have done straight out of high school without any background in other work or education, just waiting until the day middle management tells them to train their foreign replacement at Panda Express.
It's almost like some conservatives don't understand that decades of awful policies, terrible cultural decline, and the crumbling state of the country is affecting young Americans in ways that didn't affect previous generations.
We don't need to get into all of the gritty details and numbers. Just ask anyone under 35 how hopeful they are for the future.
