Happy H-1B Visa Day

Facebook is dying at Pacific Standard magazine.

Theme: War for talent.

Subject Article: "More than 100 Chicago tech execs sign letter urging immigration reform: State's GOP delegation told of need for foreign engineers, scientists."

Other Links: 1."Offshore firms took 50% of H-1B visas in 2013: Government data shows who is really using the visas."
2."The STEM Talent Shortage Debate."
3."Talent Is the New Oil: OPEC of Tech."
4."The Price of Panic."
5."Tech Talent Recruiting Geography."

Postscript: I could go back and forth forever about the relationship between the skills gap and immigration policy. I'm in favor of dramatically increasing the supply of foreign born labor in the United States. Migration is economic development. I'm not writing about the war for talent from a policy perspective.  I'm trying to figure out if the Innovation Economy has peaked and begun converging (i.e. geographically diffusing). The primary point of contention concerns labor costs. When an economy is diverging (i.e. geographically concentrating in a few places), employers can afford dramatic increases in wages. When wages become an overriding concern, businesses should seek out geographic arbitrage opportunities. To date, tech companies have done everything but change address. Today, April Fool's Day, is a day of reckoning.