H-1B Shakeup, Kimmel Apology, Autism Causes, California Hate Speech Law

Sachs and Chamath argue that with roughly five times as many H-1B applications as slots (85,000/year nominally), a $100K one-time fee will price out low-end IT ‘chop shops’ paying ~$65K salaries and force employers to reserve visas for rare, high-value talent. Chamath notes real issuance has effectively ballooned to 600K–1M people/year through various mechanisms, creating wage suppression and fueling perceptions that Americans are being displaced.

A large plurality of visas go to firms like Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, and Wipro, which arbitrage cheaper labor rather than augmenting U.S. innovation. Average H-1B salaries under ~$120K contradict the narrative that the visas are mostly for elite PhDs; Chamath notes many startup executive assistants make more, supporting claims of wage suppression and pseudo–indentured servitude.

Friedberg revives the ‘Operation Paperclip’ analogy, urging an active, state-backed recruitment of top scientists (e.g., in AI, materials, biotech) from rival nations like China. They distinguish that from humanitarian asylum/family reunification and mass economic migration, arguing policy conflation breeds public distrust and politicization. Chamath adds that closing the southern border has created political space to discuss stapling green cards to advanced STEM degrees more rationally.

Friedberg frames autism as a spectrum of phenotypes with potentially different underlying mechanisms. He highlights research on folate receptor autoantibodies that impair vitamin B (folate) uptake, possibly leading to autistic phenotypes in some cases, and notes a test and leucovorin treatment have existed for years. He also cites meta-analyses suggesting a modestly increased statistical risk of autism/ADHD with frequent prenatal acetaminophen use, while stressing it is an association, not proven determinism.

Friedberg emphasizes that microplastics, novel chemicals, air pollutants, and pharmaceuticals each might slightly elevate risk (e.g., 0.05–0.07%), but combined could produce a significant population-level effect over decades. He criticizes short-duration, single-exposure safety studies that miss long-term accumulation, paralleling how endocrine-disrupting effects of plastics were recognized only after decades of use. The group agrees politicized stunts (e.g., performatively taking Tylenol to ‘own’ Trump) are reckless given unresolved science.