Correcting the Corrector

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  LA Times writer Mike Hiltzik is taking Moore to task for “parading his ignorance” on H-1B, a program Hiltzik calls “a cynical sham.” No voices of moderation among Messrs. Moore, Kaku and Hiltzik!

Sadly, though, Hiltzik too has his facts wrong. His statement,

…visa holders can work in the U.S. for three years, with the goal of obtaining permanent residency and, ultimately, citizenship.

is way, way off base, not even on the ball field. H-1B is a temporary work visa, good for three years and renewable for another three. It is separate from the employer-sponsored green card program. It is common for a sponsor of an H-1B to also sponsor the worker for a green card, but they are separate programs, and sponsorship for one does not imply sponsorship for the other. And, note that even if there is an application for a green card, this comes from the employer, not the worker.

This is not splitting hairs. In the green card case, the worker is in essence tied to the employer, whereas if the worker is just an H-1B, she has much more mobility and thus less chance to be abused.

Moore said, “There is little evidence that these foreign workers displace Americans from their jobs,” to which Hiltzik retorts that on the contrary, there have been some celebrated cases (Disney, SCE etc.). Yes, but Moore’s general statement is correct; in fact there is widespread displacement (direct and indirect), but hard evidence is limited.

Hiltzik says the NFAP study finding a big jobs multiplier effect from hiring H-1Bs was invalid because it wrongly attributed cause-and-effect, when actually  “tech companies were adding jobs at the same time they were hiring H-1B workers,” i.e. both stemmed from a boom tech economy. Fine, but Madeleine Zavodny’s study showing each H-1B hire produces 2.62 jobs used more sophisticated statistical methods, which she claimed did show cause-and-effect. Her study had tons of other problems, but still Hiltzik has not done his homework. (He’s written a number of articles on H-1B over the years.)

Of course, regular readers of this blog will immediately spot my biggest objection to his column, the “Intels Good, Infosyses Bad” syndrome, a view under which the Indian outsourcing firms are the main abusers of H-1B, an incorrect and dangerous view. Granted, he doesn’t let the Intels off the hook completely, but mostly so (“The H-1B program continues to be an outsourcer’s dream”). To me, that error tops any of Moore’s.