If you haven't heard by now, tech companies are outraged by President Trump's immigration/refugee order, yes they have formally banned against the Trump Administration. It wasn't too long ago when Trump met with the leaders of some of these same companies in Trump Tower. Moral high ground or bottom-lines?
127 companies have filed a legal brief against President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees from seven middle eastern countries. These companies include big names like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Tesla/SpaceX, Netflix, Uber, Intel, and many other companies, all according to CNN Tech. The reasoning behind the brief is, according to the Los Angeles Times, "The order makes it more difficult and expensive for U.S companies to recruit, hire, and retain some of the world's best employees." and "It disrupts ongoing business operations, and it threatens companies' ability to attract talent, business, and investment in the United States." Some companies, like Google, also have employees in the restricted countries, and may have interests. Reading the headline and reading that, you'd think that's morally justified and makes a statement towards the Trump Administration. If you think it about it, it almost seems like the companies are worried about hiring and making money. Check this video for a better idea from Fox Business's "Making Money with Charles Payne":
From watching that video, or really just thinking outside the status quo of a legal brief like this, it seems to be about H-1B visas and their net profits. The US has about 900,000 to 1 million people with H-1B visas and about 13% make up US tech jobs, all according to that video clip.
It makes sense, tech companies can hire foreign workers cheaper and get "more bang for their buck" basically, but what about US workers? It's hard to believe US schools, colleges, and universities aren't pumping out qualified US workers. Again, "more bang for their buck". Now there is nothing wrong with H-1B visas, but since President Trump is against the program these companies are scrambling for damage control. H-1B visas are good for businesses and of course the foreign workers, but it does pose some questions when any industry uses the program extensively, and the tech industry does. According to Business Insider, in 2014 64.5% of 315,857 H-1B visas were for computer related occupations. That is a large chunk of that year's H-1B approvals, and Trump wants to bring that number down to fill it with American workers, it's hard to see why Trump is wrong. US tech companies should be trying to hire Americans before H-1B immigrants, there are plenty of skilled and qualified candidates that are right here in the USA. The H-1B visa program shouldn't be treated as a garden of workers for any American industry. Hire who you need, where you need it, when you need it and if that requires using the H-1B program from time to time then so be it, but don't abuse it and shun the American worker. President Trump has been stirring up all sorts of controversy, but all for the better interest of the United States. US tech companies have not been a fan of Trump since Trump started targeting the H-1B visa program during his campaign, they also came out because of his stance on immigration and refugees as a whole, some sort of moral high ground. Moral high ground though, that's all this legal brief is disguised as, in reality the tech sector does not want "business as usual" going away, they want to continue on like Obama never left, not going to happen. The tech sector should not have anything to worry about, they'll continue to make great products and offer great services, and they'll still make hefty profit. H-1B visas are not going away, it's just going to be slimmed down and American workers will be promoted. Some of the companies on the brief are on Trump's Tech Advisory Council, but a few like Uber, have since stepped away from the table. Trump has been facing plenty of scrutiny over his orders, but Trump's a winner and don't expect him to lose now. It's sad that business is being politicized, because that is not the role for business, but this is just another example of what makes America, America. Starting the 3rd week of the Trump Administration and the Pai led Federal Communications Commission, major things have happened regarding both. Every two weeks we'll do a report on the actions and news regarding the FCC. Within the two full weeks of Ajit Pai's FCC, some regulations have been cut, investigations dropped, and the industry has loved every minute of it. Ajit Pai has made it clear that net neutrality is going down one way or another, and he is beginning the process of doing just that. Per Dallas Business Journal, today the FCC dropped its investigation into AT&T offering "zero-rating", which lets users stream DirecTV without counting against their data. Win for both the consumer and business right there. According to Inc, Pai stated "free data plans are popular with consumers and improve competition". That statement fits Pai's overall tone. Pai has also made it clear that he intends to "fire up the weed whacker" referring to slashing regulations and policies regarding net neutrality. It's absurd to think ISPs will purposely prevent you from getting on a website or accessing apps like Netflix, the only thing preventing that will be your Internet connection or data caps. Also, isn't that competition, or plain capitalism when you charge a bandwidth intensive, content giant like Netflix extra for a faster speed? Wait until gigabit Internet arrives, then everyone will have faster speeds. It's no secret the telecommunications and media industries are opposed to net neutrality, so it's only best to let the FCC and the industries work together and do what's best for the consumer in the end. Put it this way, it'll be a win-win for consumers and businesses. The FCC also had a spectrum auction, according to Broadcasting & Cable, which lasted 34 rounds generating almost $19.4 billion in bidding revenue. This auction, according to the same article, is the FCC's second largest spectrum auction in revenue. The auction will continue this week. The FCC auctions off "space" in the electromagnetic spectrum that radio, satellites, and wireless devices depend on to function. The FCC however just put the brakes on, former chairman Tom Wheeler's, Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications according to Digital Trends. Per that same article, the program was aimed at bridging the digital divide by giving nine ISPs subsidies of $9.25 a month for each eligible customer. According to the same article there are about 13 million eligible customers. The customers that may be affected by this can still use the Federal Lifeline Program for their communications needs. Chairman Pai defended his decision according to the same Digital Trends article that, the provisions did not have "support of the majority of commissioners". Also according to The American Genius, Pai claimed $400 million has been lost annually due to "wasteful and negligent acts". In 2013 Slash Gear reported a subsidy scam within the Lifeline regarding the ISPs taking part in the program. For those who don't know, President Ronald Reagan created the Universal Service Lifeline Program, where those who pay a phone bill pay a "Universal Service" fee to fund telephone connection for lower income/rural area folks. Wheeler's program was aimed at broadband for those same folks, but as Pai stated has had a rocky roll out and has lost money, so it's being halted for the time being. It's tough, but it's absurd to think Ajit Pai doesn't want poor and rural people to have Internet access. On a different note, the FCC isn't defending their regulation on prison phone rate fees within state lines. This is all per The Verge. In 2015 the FCC went to implement rates for prison phone calls within state lines, but the prison phone industry sued the FCC for the action. Ajit Pai has stated in a letter he will not defend the agency, basically putting the case to rest, and a win for the prison phone agency and the taxpayers.
Ajit Pai is doing a lot of things in a short amount of time, sort of like President Trump, and it's having like results where people are freaking out. Just relax. Pai knows exactly what he's doing, and is more than qualified to be the Chairman of the FCC. He has winning for not just the industries in which he oversees, but winning for the consumer is his true goal. Pai has shown throughout his career, and is showing it now, he is pro-growth, pro-competition, pro-deregulation, and most importantly pro-consumer. Look forward to more good news to the market and consumer from the FCC. Ever since early human civilization there has always been a record of other worldly beings, or people from the sky. The best historical evidence is from the Ancient Sumerians, who recorded these “sky people” visiting them and working with them. More ancient evidence come from Chinese trinkets, Mayans, and Stonehenge. In the past 50 plus years, UFO and alien sightings have skyrocketed, starting with Roswell in 1947 all the way up to present day with NASA cutting live feeds when an abnormal object(s) appear. Let’s just face it, aliens exist, a good chunk of citizens know, most of the world’s governments know, but the government’s are keeping this information sealed up from the public. Most of you have probably seen UFO pictures and videos, maybe have even seen one with your own eyes, but the real deal here is the Moon. Yes the Moon, do you really think NASA decided to never return to the Moon in the mid-1970s because of funding? Why do you think the Soviet Union never put a Russian on the Moon? When NASA and The Soviet Union sent probes and orbiters to the Moon, they found structures on both the light and dark sides of the Moon. The images and videos also uncovered UFOs, NASA was already committed to sending man to the Moon, so they couldn’t back out of that commitment. NASA instead planned from the start of the Apollo missions on how to conceal what was really out in space and on the Moon from the public. Below are a couple of photos, unedited photos may I add of what we really found on the Moon. Yes, NASA has always and still “air brushes” their Moon photos. These and others can be looked at HERE. You can take those for what they’re worth, but there are too many pictures relating to this that make it more real than fake. There are many many more photos, but those are two are undeniable. Below are shots of Apollo 11’s Moon landing from Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, both have which admitted to an Alien presence on the Moon and in our Solar System. Again, take those for what they’re worth, but the camera shaking and the way the footage looks makes it harder to prove fake than true. Buzz and Neil both have stated publicly that the Moon landing was watched from start to finished by alien crafts. Face it, the Moon is not ours, it never was and never will be. Need more proof? Here are some transcripts of astronauts claiming to see UFOs, lights, and even hearing weird sounds. All per, NASA. From the early days of man entering space up until present day there have been numerous sightings of UFOs and NASA trying to cover it up. NASA has and still is coordinating the cover up with the CIA and Department of Defense. The DoD has always had a part in our Moon and space missions, wonder why.
There is no coincidence with UFO sightings here on Earth and those on the Moon and in space. Aliens exist and they visit us daily, with some claims that some are based on Earth underground and in Antarctica. Antarctica is whole different story, Pyramids have been found, and numerous UFO sightings come from Antarctica. We’ll save Antarctica for another day. It may be some of a shock, but if aliens wanted to take us down they would have done it already. No need for panic, you should embrace it and be happy about it. It’s up to governments to confirm existence and the information, or aliens will have to make themselves known in a big way. Where are they from? Some say distant parts of the universe, some say the 4th dimension, and others say Mars. Maybe someone knows for sure, but again the information can’t be confirmed until a big name or big event confirms it.
This week there has been some very interesting developments, apparently Facebook is going into TV. Yes, the social media giant is said to be entering the world of video and TV. This is according to a couple sources, Fox Business and Recode to be specific.
Facebook has been doing plenty in the past years, Facebook is no longer just a social network, but it's a household name, everyone knows what Facebook is. It was only a matter of time until Facebook indulged into something outside it's social media realm, and Facebook appears to be planning to enter Television. Facebook has a interesting person on their board, according to Recode, it's Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings. You know Hastings and Zuckerberg have a decent relationship, and discussions have probably taken place between the two, and others, but mainly between them which led Facebook to this plan. According to Fox Business, Facebook is planning on building an app for TV set-top boxes and aiming to be a "video first" company. Here is a video from Fox Business explaining further:
Facebook will no doubt be stepping into a world of competition, but it will depend on what route they'll be taking. Facebook seems to be going the YouTube route, per that same Fox Business article mentioned above, and even Business Insider confirmed it. Mark Zuckerberg plans to do short videos only, per Business Insider.
Facebook started running "Facebook Stories", so that could have been a hint. It seems that Facebook is being very original, an app for short-form videos, opens up may doors. Facebook could create their own, people can upload their own, and it can be accessed just like YouTube. Can Facebook beat YouTube? It'll be a good fight no doubt, but ultimately Facebook is going to have to rely on their 1.74 billion monthly active users per Statista. YouTube gets 3.25 billion views per month, per FortuneLords, and that'll be a hard number to top for anybody stepping into that kind of market. Whatever happens it's going to be interesting. Like YouTube, Facebook is going to go after the ad revenue with this, per Business Insider. With the world destined for a completely digital way of life, Facebook is just simply stepping on the stage, and advertisers are always thirsty for new ad space. It's no question that Facebook will be able to compete, attract plenty of advertisers, and make hefty pay days with their product. Everyone who is a fan of Facebook and simply a fan of videos should be excited, the market should be very excited, because this could spark something. Netflix and YouTube should be nervous, more so for YouTube than Netflix, but Facebook could buy Netflix. Think about, Netflix's CEO is on their board, Facebook could acquire some essential resources from Netflix, and vise-versa. Not far fetched, check out the previous Business Insider article for more. This is an exciting time for digital content all around, from suppliers to distributors. Facebook is simply joining the stage with those that have been there. Expect plenty more companies to follow in the future, because digital and the Internet of Things are the future. Facebook stock per Google: |
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