Michael Arrington of TechCrunch (“a weblog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies”) interviewed Mitt Romney. Here’s what the candidate had to say about H-1B visas. (Though they left out the hyphen. But then so, I see, did the official at the U.S. Embassy in London who wrote “H1B” on my British passport back in September 1991.)

MA: I didn’t think of it that way, that’s interesting. Let’s jump into visas, probably the most politically, one of the most sensitive issues in Silicon Valley at least. The H1B in particular, allows US employers to temporarily seek help from skilled foreigners, they have to have the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree to qualify. We used to give, in the late 90s, 100-150k a year, there’s at least demand for 200k a year. In the last couple of years, the US quota for that has been brought down to 65k, and that was last year and this year. A lot of Silicon Valley startups and large companies in particular are saying it’s really hurting them with their hiring. Proponents of the program say it helps U.S. businesses stay competitive and it helps avoid outsourcing. It also brings some of the worlds best and brightest to the U.S. Quite a few of the most successful entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley started off as H1B visa holders. The other side says it can take jobs away from US citizens and lowers wages. What’s your position on H1B in general?
MR: I like H1B visas. I like the idea of the best and brightest in the world coming here. I’d rather have them come here permanently rather than come and go, but I believe our visa program is designed to help us solve gaps in our employment pool. Where there are individuals who have skills that we do not have in abundance here, I’d like to bring them here and contribute to our economy. Ultimately we’re in a competitive battle with the rest of the world; a battle where we need to stay the most powerful nation in the world. And the only way our nation stays ahead forever is with superior technology and innovation. And if we need additional folks who have skills that can contribute to our country then by all means lets welcome them in and if we see that our kids are not competing in certain areas lets help our kinds understand what they need to become competitive.
MA: Do you think the quota should be increased? Do you think their should be no quota? Should we let in everyone that is qualified?
MR: I would like to see us increase the number of people who receive an H1B visa and can provide skills and experience that we may not have. As to the exact number in my view that would follow a review of a number of things. Number 1: What’s the overall economy doing? What’s happening to the size of our workforce. Number 2: What’s happening to our own capacity in the jobs that are being requested. Number 3: What are the demands from our employers? How many additional folks do they need? You’d have to do an assessment of that on a regular basis, but my overall view is we need more H1B visas, not less.

The correct answer here, as I have pointed out before, is that if demand for info-tech workers rises, so will wages. The news will get out, and American kids will be piling into college comp-sci departments so they can get one of those high-paying jobs. If IT wages really go through the roof and stay there, there would be a case for importing IT workers from abroad.

In fact: “Salaries and bonuses for IT pros have stabilized or are growing slightly,” says ESJ.com. This being the case, why would anyone with a rational approach to economics hold the view that “we need more H1B visas, not less”?