By now I'm sure you've heard: POTUS Donald Trump has imposed a $100K USD tax on American companies that hire and utilize H-1B visa workers. Let me be clear on that point: $100K USD per H-1B worker, per year. This would only apply to new H-1B guys; pre-existing ones are cool - for now. The move was intended to act as a stick to American businesses to hire American workers over H-1B guys, which has had profound impacts on not only the American economy, but also culturally as well. Chief among them being commentators like Scott Galloway calls "the problem with men", particularly younger men, who have been documented as marrying less, having relationships less, even having sex less(!), and all of this is indeed tied to severe economic woes. Indeed, William Costello, a leading researcher on the Incel problem, has noted the "NEET" phenomenon: Not in Employment, Education or Training as a leading factor among Incels being Incels. Trump's plan, which was signed on Fri, Sep 19, 2025 and went into effect at 12.01AM Sun, Sep 21, 2025, is primed to address these concerns.
But of course, the devil is as always, in the details - and already the pushback is starting to take form. Critics of the plan say that this is just another manifestation of Trump's problematic "MAGA movement" that is xenophobic, anti-immigrant and possibly even racist; others argue that putting the squeeze on American companies that are reliant on H-1B workers threatens a slowdown on innovation, and raises the spectre of said American companies going abroad. Still others see the very real possibility of the H-1B guys going to emerging tech markets abroad, like the Middle East (most notably the UAE and Saudi Arabia), the EU and spots within the Pacific Rim itself. The Indian government has even weighed in, important here given that the overwhelming lion's share of H-1B STEM workers in the USA are of Indian origin (with China's contribution being a very distant second). As is always the case when Trump speaks, international implications are in play.
Then, there's the very real challenges that American universities face: Sky-high tuition fees and student loan debt, anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses, the woke phenomenon, bureaucratic bloat, and DEI woes - not to mention the fact that the vast majority of universities simply aren't able to scale up and ramp up training and deployment of students into the STEM fields fast enough or efficiently enough to make a difference in the shorter term - say, within the next two to five years. Larger tech companies could implement their own bootcamps and/or partner with major American universities, but thus far such efforts are scant.
But that's where the Black Manosphere Conclave comes in.
By now, you all know the story: Founded in 2021, the BMC's vision is simple: Get as many Black men into the STEM pipeline as possible. To that end, TheoWAF, the Chief Technology Officer of the Conclave, has devised a no-nonsense curricula that actually teaches what's needed and practical in the field in real time - and because of the way that the Conclave operates - low overhead, virtually zero funding spent on marketing and other bloat, no permanent physical location for the Conclave in general and Theo University in particular, relying instead on pre-existing infrastructure like high end luxury resort hotels to kickoff each new school year and carrying on the school year online via distance learning, the Black Manosphere Conclave model can offer high STEM training skills for a fraction of the cost that the best engineering schools currently charge. As a result and since 2021, the BMC has put more than 700 brothers through Theo's program, with over 300 landing jobs in the tech sector one year ahead of our projected five year plan, in 2024. With our fifth Conclave in Miami earlier this month, we have done far more than offer "proof of concept" - we're positioned to take unique advantage of this very special opportunity. An opportunity Theo has been talking about now for at least five years.
Currently, Black men make up approximately eight percent of the American STEM workforce, and that number dwindles to merely five percent when we consider Black engineers(!) - the overwhelming majority of them being male, I might add. Despite hundreds of millions in funding and massive ad and media campaigns and even governmental support at the highest levels, efforts to get women and girls in tech have been middling at best, a flat out bust at worst. As studies have consistently shown - not just in America, not just in the NATO West, but in the most egalitarian, feminist-friendly countries on the planet, like Sweden, Norway and Iceland - that men consistently outpace women in terms of both interest in and ability with STEM fields.
Thus, Trump's H-1B issue is more than just a tech issue, or an immigration issue. It's a gendered issue, and comes at a time when there is much fevered and very real discussion about the state of men and the very existence of the NATO West and its de facto leader, the United States, on into the 21st century and beyond. Men's wellbeing is inevitable tied to their economic wellbeing; the two are inextricably linked and intertwined. Viewed positively, this is a major chance to move the needle on multiple fronts: Domestic, economic, technological; but it's also a chance to put a dent in the Incel and related problems with men today, by giving them the training and skills needed not only to compete in the global labor market, but to have a shot at lasting love, companionship and family, too.
Bottomline: Trump's latest move is exactly what the Black Manosphere Conclave exists for, and I'm here for it!
MOA