Guest worker visas like the H-1B have irreparably harmed the job market for new computer science graduates. Also, older programmers are heavily discriminated against. These two problems make programming look like an unattractive career choice to young people.
If we consider high technology to be a national priority, we need to support the practitioners we currently have and encourage more young people to take up the field. The corporations won't do it; they prefer H-1Bs to American citizens. So perhaps the federal government can.
Let's have the federal government offer a grant program to American programmers who want to go independent, giving these programmers a non-corporate path to a productive career.
Require citizenship and a comp.sci degree, and monitor their progress.