1 Funded Immigrant Founder = 159 U.S. Jobs | Hacker News Reader

1 Funded Immigrant Founder = 159 U.S. Jobs

fundersclub.com

63 pointsGaussian17 comments

How many US jobs are created by funding one US founder? I can't imagine why the number would be all that different.

Of course, with few exceptions, most of us in the US aren't more than a couple of generations away from our immigrant roots.

Everything looks good when you only count the benefits without considering the costs

And what are the costs that need to be considered?

how many immigrants do not find employment due to education/communication/social skills.

The US immigration policy is very deliberately focused on giving visas to highly educated people. A large fraction of the visas are actually granted based on immigrants already having job offers. And among the rest who are unemployed, a large fraction is because family members/dependents of, say, H1-B visa holders are not allowed to work by law.

> The US immigration policy is very deliberately focused on giving visas to highly educated people.

Actually, no. From House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte's press release today [1] announcing the agenda for the 115th Congress:

    The House Judiciary Committee will also work to improve the legal 
    immigration system. The United States  has the most generous legal 
    immigration system in the world. However, we select less than 12% of 
    immigrants on the basis of the education and skills they can bring 
    to America. And it’s only 5% if you exclude their accompanying family 
    members. Other countries, such as Canada, the U.K., and Australia, 
    select over 60% of immigrants based on skills. In order to remain 
    competitive in the global economy, this must change.

[1] https://judiciary.house.gov/press-release/goodlatte-announce...

The implication of that article, that immigrants > natives is wrong and is fuel for the altright sentiment.

I don't think that was implied.

That immigrant founders tend to be amazing people statistically makes a lot of sense. The US government doesn't just hand out visas. They go to highly educated, successful people. So when comparing the highest achievers from another country with the average achievers from our own country, of course immigrants look good. Comparing our highest achievers with highest achievers from abroad would yield a more even comparison.

There are of course also seasonal worker visas and such, but those immigrants are not the ones founding companies (nor stealing jobs unless you want to break your back in a field all day).

So we should invest more in education so we can have even more highly educated people?

We should also make it easier for people to take risks (one of the most common attributes of successful entrepreneurs is that they came from upper-middle/upper class backgrounds) by providing a better safety net for those that want to venture out on their own. Socialized healthcare, investing more in education so citizens aren't mired in debt, etc are ways to do that.

I would venture that at least half of successful entrepreneurs are not special or exceptionally brilliant, but they are intelligent- enough, well-off enough to take "risks" over and over, and connected-enough to get others to help with those plans.

We have a massive pool of Americans that could do a hell of a lot more for the country if everyone were given the same opportunity that the top 10% get.

Yes, but for every job created in SV, 5 are probably wiped out in middle america lol

that's not really relevant. those jobs will be wiped out regardless of who makes the software.

good. that's a 5x increase of efficiency and should be lauded.

Also significant impact: funded immigrants that have founder children.

For example, Steve Jobs' biological father was from Syria.

Steves Jobs will be in theory blocked from entering the US if he was a british citizen.

He wasn't a British citizen and he's no longer with us. I understand the point you're trying to make, but certainly you can find an better example.

The USA is the most immoral country. Name any other country that, by stealing the best and brightest away, leaves so many other countries impoverished by the dispossession of that talent.

Why is this an argument against blocking immigration, and not an argument against bombing those people?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com