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Trump and Tech: How the Next President may effect the IT Industry

Trump and Tech: How the Next President may effect the IT Industry

Not only is the potential for power changing hands a heated topic among the populous, but the effect it has on the economy is impossible to ignore.

Industries and investors get quite shaken up by the uncertainty and upheavals, with stock prices rising and falling in all sorts of strange ways while we ride out the rough waters brought upon by changing times.  Eventually everyone just adjusts to the new laws or simply reorganizes their efforts to circumvent continued policies, and then the cycle starts all over again once the next election rolls along, but the adjusting is often arduous and unenjoyable.  At least, it is for those who hoped the election would go the other way.

Take Silicon Valley, for instance.

The innovation center of America saw great success under President Obama’s two terms in office.  But back in July, before Trump was even officially named the Republican nominee, about 150 Tech CEOs signed an open letter voicing their concerns that having Trump as president would be “a disaster for innovation.”

Trump has actually said little on his position towards the tech industry and the issues it faces, focusing his attention on other issues instead and leaving his exact stance on the matter vague.  His stance on these other matters, however, leave many to draw fearful conclusions for the effects it will have on the IT Industry, believing that his opposition to immigration and outsourcing will make bringing talented workers into the country and maintaining cheap production outside the country very difficult, if not financially impossible.

Only time will tell what the exact details of Trump’s presidency will mean for the tech industry, but personally, the broad strokes he will have on employment as a whole look plain as day. 

Trump has said he plans to cut unemployment insurance policies and redirect the funds towards guaranteeing six weeks paid maternity leave.  This is good news for employed expecting mothers, but it will most likely cause an intense upsurge of job seekers knowing that there is much less of a cushion to fall back on.  The amount paid to those under unemployment varies from state to state, as does the amount of time one can be on it and the regulations for what constitutes qualifying in the first place, but almost all will agree it’s not much.  With Trump in office, it’s about to be even less.

With so many job seekers about to flood the market, there’ll need to be a similar increase in positions to be filled if his plans are to pay off.  With that in mind, and with his dedication towards repatriation, the focusing of building business domestically and keeping it there, Trump has proposed enforcing companies to look for American workers to meet their needs before browsing for foreign employees.  Trump has also stated he intends to reform work visas, planning to increase the minimum pay allowed to those working under the H-1B program.  His intention is to make it difficult for companies to hire cheap foreign labor and instead focus on employing out-of-work Americans, particularly the women, people of color, and LGBT who are so often discriminated against.

The diversification of the workforce is a wonderful initiative, to be sure, but there is no guarantee that these people will have the education or experience needed to fill certain specialized positions, particularly those of the big tech companies who flourish by bringing the best and brightest from around the world to work in one place.  In fact, creating a surplus of workers competing for the same jobs may only end up lowering the wage range for many positions, with supply and demand being so disrupted that survivable salaries become unsustainable.

On top of all that, Trump is a very divisive figure, to say the least.  The man hasn't even been inaugurated yet, but already droves of riled up citizens are raising a ruckus due to his election, with angry opponents blocking freeways in protest and racist supporters committing hate crimes with uninhibited bravado.  Trump has spoken out against both groups, calling for the American people to come together rather than grow apart, but his words may not be enough to soothe over the extreme animosity of either side.

I worry that all this is only the tip of the iceberg, a small taste of the civil unrest that is sure to follow, nothing more than the calm before the storm.

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