Entrepreneur and political figure, Vivek Ramaswamy, recently addressed the reasons why top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers amid ongoing controversy surrounding immigration and high-skilled worker visas.
Posting on his social media account on X, he also emphasised that the issue is not because of an IQ difference, but rather a cultural one.
“Top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH”
Ramaswamy said that American culture has long celebrated mediocrity over excellence, a trend that dates back at least to the 90s, if not earlier. He also argued that this mindset doesn’t begin in college but is instilled from a young age.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he stated.
He further argued that a culture which favours characters like Cory from “Boy Meets World,” Zach and Slater from “Saved by the Bell,” or Stefan over Steve Urkel from “Family Matters” will not produce the best engineers.
He mentioned that he knows several immigrant parents from the 90s who deliberately restricted how much TV their children could watch, as they…
