Please read the following article if you are in the market for a job, it seems that only those at the top of their class will have a tech job in America down the road. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=562&e=1&u=/ap/20040914/ap_on_hi_te/tech_job_slump Lets vote for change this November for the sake of change, we could all go to panhandling school if that does not work or you could just join the FAMILY
It's all about supply and demand. If you aren't good enough at anything (not just tech jobs) and someone is willing to do it just as good for less money, you should be looking for a different job already.
I am going to apply for a donkey cart driving job, Arnold and George have a high demand for slaves, I will bring them over the boarder from Douglas, AZ. There could also be a demand for those who can captain a ship to bring the slaves in by water.
In case you are interested in reading different perspectives on Outsourcing, here is an article I wrote. This article received a mention in the Wall Street Journal (requires subscription). Ajeet
Thanks Ajeet, good to have such a distinguished individual as a member here at DP Thank you for the article, this is a hot subject in the press right now. The other day I seen Bill Gates in China posing for a photo, he was setting up Microsoft operations in China. America will never recover from this trend in importation of product from offshore, we will also never see benefits and wages as we have in the past. Small businesses are in real trouble and the economy in general in America is in big trouble. We are in a major war that we are currently losing and there is no end is sight to our financial losses in Iraq. Everyday things are getting worse, not better in America. Now we are sending our jobs offshore in a big way, Craig Barrett of Intel mentioned a while back that the trend is not going to change anytime soon. I made more when I was in high school back in 1977 than I can get today on a construction crew. I was working on a truck dock in 1977 for Roadway Express making $ 18.00 an hour, I have been self employed since 1980, but I had to go back into the job market because of a downturn in my regular business. I am making $ 10.00 an hour working contruction, no workers comp, no benefits. The crew I was on on Panama City beach was 95% mexicans that could speak no english. I am not working this week because of a hurricane on the Gulf coast of America. So what outsourcing and importing of goods and labor has done to this country is lower our standard of living. Lower the amount of jobs and wages for the remaining jobs. This is the Republican dream, no unions, no benefits and slaves to replace the American workers if they bitch about conditions. Ronald Reagan started this with the firing of the Air Traffic controllers union and it has gone downhill since then. My theory is to vote ALL the Republican Monkeys out of office across the board. The Nixon boys have to go.
Competition is not bad. Maybe it will make American's actually strive to excel at what they do, rather than do just good enough to get by. There is always a market for quality, regardless of price for anything (including employees). If people spent half the time becoming better at what they do rather than complaining that someone else will do their job cheaper and/or better maybe the jobs wouldn't go to others.
America was at its greatest a manufacturing economy, today that does not exist as it once did. When Forutune 1,000 corporations invest offshore to serve the North American market that is a bad sign. Honda builds plants in America to serve the North American markets, but our companies are building in China to serve worldwide markets. This is a function of money laundering that only new tax laws can correct. Get the capital outside of the USA and they can do a hell of a lot to evade taxation in more than one way.
I have to say I agree to both sides mentioned: Shawn is correct in what he said look what happened when Japanese car quality was (and to some degree still is) way higher than American made. But we need to put a stop to the complete outsourcing and free (one-way) trade. The free trade agreement is making Walmarts rich and eventually only walmart employees can shop at walmart - the sad thing is Walmart use to say American made on almost everything. Yes this has spiraled out of control like Anthony says the money spent outside the US then evades more taxes. Less taxes collect, the more they will want to raise taxes on everyone else.
Another problem with keeping everything in the country is since the labor is higher, you are going to pay more for whatever they are making. Worst case scenario would be someone looses their job and they have to get a lower paying one. It's kind of a nasty price to pay for getting consumer goods for inexpensive. If televisions were made in the US we probably would be paying over $1,000 for a crappy 19" one. Personally, I wish they would start somehow importing cheap labor to work at restaurants. I think $2 for a burger is too much to pay already. I want one for $0.50! hehe
If you did not have the unique skills that you have, you would not think like that I am going to put you on my Nixon list.
The only real solution is to shrink government. There is no such thing as taxing the rich, as Mr. Kerry wants to do. The rich have the ways and money to avoid paying taxes. The average Joe is the only one who is hurt when taxes are raised. Ross Perot paid something like 2.5 percent of his income last year in taxes. The average person person pays 10 times that. Say hello to internet tax too, if Mr. Heinz gets into office. Spend, Spend, Spend. My last political post. This week. Maybe.
Yes Bush knows how to shrink government, they are running out of money and soliders to fight in the war, the reserves are gone. We have the largest deficit in the history of the nation, the Republicans have no solution, only more problems and depression facing the country. When this administration is done trying to cover Bush Senior's mistakes from the first Gulf War maybe the country can turn around. Too bad George Jr. will not have that opportunity to continue to correct his fathers mistakes, the Nixon gang has to go.
It is funny how passionate people get over politics. I am by no means a Bush fan. But unemployment is lower than when Clinton was in office... I have to stop. I said I was done with political posts. If you want to keep your friends your friends don't talk politics.
Don't worry about it, this seems to be a free speech forum. Say what you want to say, if you are afraid to express free speech on an open forum in America, the land of the free, then we might as well just take our mark, get scanned and do as Uncle Sam tells us. I ain't going for that shit, I will live out in the woods with hippies, you know they were all right about this government in the 1960's. The war profit seeking bastards will ruin this country, we have a modern Vietnam for you kids to learn from. Got some LSD and protest signs, you better get some made up, you better fire up Woodstock again, these bastards running this govenment need another dose of American thought process. They can kiss my ass. H-Man, where do you get your unemployment figures from, the Presidents Mother?
More bad news about the manufacturing sector in the article below. http://www.managingautomation.com/maonline/magazine/read.jspx?id=1179655 Remember that one manufacturing job, creates 25-30 support jobs (construction, transportation, food service, suppliers to the manufacturer). With IT and high tech jobs moving offshore you would think that Americans would demand of their leaders a hell of a lot more than you all are getting. Be aware and put the pressure on companies and lawmakers, also remember to make an attempt to buy things made in the USA. I have many made in the USA domains if anyone wants to partner in building a portal that will showcase American made goods. Web Developers needed..............
The North American Free Trade agreement is not the cause of jobs going to China or India. The NAFTA is designed to make American, Mexican and Canadian companies more competitive and to reduce taxes on trade between the countries. I would rather have manufacturing in Canada or Mexico versus China. How about you? Mexico is in big trouble too, do you want more Mexicans here in the states or would you rather see economic development in Mexico?
Thanks for rubbing it in, I hope they all move a short distance across the street from your house You know, I could just go get some sandpaper and rub the skin off of my arms if that would make you happy