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Remember this article when you hear the "hundreds of resumes per job opening" argument in a debate on immigration laws.


You presume that the 199 bad developers are american and adding immigrants to the mix will improve overall quality. But if we follow the article's logic, we would be adding 199 bad immigrants to the 199 bad americans already here. So instead of 199 bad developers and 1 good one, we end up with 398 bad developers and 2 good ones. The end result is, 199 more americans unemployed, decreased pay for the 199 H1-B's, and no overall improvement of quality.

(I am not necessarily arguing against more H1-B visas, I am simply saying the article applies equally to all developers regardless of origin so it really doesn't speak for looser immigration laws - if anything, once you apply the math to the immigration issue, the logical conclusion is negative).


What is this argument, and which side is it on?


I'd suspect he means the argument that goes like:

"There are hundreds of resumes submitted for every job opening in Industry X. Why, then, are we STEALING AMERICAN JOBS by allowing H-1B visa holders to enter the country and take this opening?"




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