Vivek Ramaswamy, who is all set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Elon Musk in the next Donald Trump administration, has weighed in on the hiring trends in the tech sector in the US. The former Republican presidential candidate’s comments come amid an intense discussion over Indian immigrants moving to the US and making it big.
Asking others to face the truth if they are “really serious about fixing the problem”, Ramaswami said American culture has done this for a very long time (at least since the ’90s and possibly longer). By the time) excellence is respected over mediocrity. It doesn’t start in college, it starts young.”
“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers rather than “native” Americans is not due to innate American IQ deficiency (lazy and inaccurate explanation). A significant part of this comes down to the C-word: Culture,” Ramaswamy said in a lengthy post on X.
The post came as a surprise, with many Trump supporters expressing their support behind the “America First” banner.
Ramaswamy, a first-generation American citizen whose parents immigrated from India, said that “the culture that celebrates the prom queen over the Math Olympiad winner or the jock over the valedictorian will not produce the best engineers.”
He then cited some characters from Boy Meets World, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters as examples, claiming that he knew several groups of immigrant parents in the 1990s who actively tried to raise their children to “normalcy.” Promoted” TV shows. He noted that “their children became highly successful STEM graduates.”
“More movies like Whiplash, less reruns of ‘Friends’. More math tutoring, and less sleepovers. More weekend science contests, less Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creation, less ‘chillin’.’ More curricular activities, less ‘hanging out in the mall,'” he said.
“Most typical American parents view ‘those kinds of parents’ with suspicion.” Most typical American children view ‘those kinds of kids’ with contempt. If you look at the general situation If you grow up aspiring for, then only normalcy will be achieved.”
Looking for “very honest” answers, Ramaswamy asked people to close their eyes and imagine one model versus another.
He said, “‘Normalcy’ does not hinder the hyper-competitive global market for tech talent. And if we pretend it does, China will give us our responsibility.”
Ultimately, Ramaswami called it “our Sputnik moment”, claiming that “Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden age in America, but only if our culture is fully awakened.”
He then called for a culture that prioritizes “achievement over mediocrity, excellence over mediocrity, drudgery over conformity, hard work over laziness.”
He concluded, “This is what we have done for ourselves, rather than playing victim and whining and wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I believe we can do this. “
The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers rather than “native” Americans is not due to innate American IQ deficiency (lazy and misinterpreted). An important part of this comes down to the C-word: culture. Difficult questions demand difficult answers and if…
– Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRAmaswamy) 26 December 2024
Earlier, Canadian musician Grimes, Elon Musk’s former partner, had also addressed the anti-India rhetoric on social media and said, “Suddenly creating anti-India energy out of nowhere is embarrassing you all. “At the same time, they were clear that they planned to do so.”
Referring to his stepfather being Indian, he said, “I spent my childhood in a half-Indian family. Indian culture blends very well with Western culture.”
