[geebee]

One of the worst aspects of the immigration debate is that somehow the concept of skilled immigration has gotten all tangled up with the notion of a specific shortage in the STEM (or more narrowly, the IT) workforce.

I agree with you that there is no evidence of a general shortage in IT talent. A RAND study also found no evidence of a shortage of STEM workers at the graduate level, either (in fact, it found that the American aversion to PhDs in science and engineering is rational and market driven).

In spite of this, I do support a stronger emphasis on general skilled immigration. Australia and Canada's points system would be a good model. If you look at Australia's points system, you'll see that a licensed plumber or electrician will get as many points as an IT worker (in fact, based on the assessment, a plumber may well get more).