On Dec 22, 2011, at 12:34 PM, Tom C wrote: >> Now, they're even trying to outsource writing software. At the moment, the >> problem is that few of the Asian programmers have the necessary >> mindset to write code well. Then there is the disconnect from managing >> projects with teams 8-12 timezones apart. Eventually, the software culture >> will develop in Asia while fewer and fewer American kids learn how to >> program, and we'll be left wondering how to support ourselves, with nobody >> left >> qualified to design or manufacture anything in this country. >> >> In the meantime, we can get stuff cheap at Wal-Mart. >> >> -- >> Larry Colen [email protected] sent from i4est > > I've been saying it for a long time (as I'm affected every day by > either outsourced or on-shored technical workers). When the majority > of the population is working at McDonald's or Walmart, who will be > making the money to buy the SUV's and flat-screen TV's? > > I'm not sure it's a matter of mindset, per se for those workers, but I > generally agree. It's more that their county's labor markets have been > handed hundreds of thousands of jobs that would have formerly been > held by native citizens because their labor can be had at a far > cheaper price. Hence thousands of qualified, but many more > under-qualified and nominally-qualified workers get the jobs because > all corporations can see is the immediate reduction in labor costs, > not the fact that they'll have to do the job three times to get it > done right, or that they've created a whole class of > un-/under-employed people in their own backyard.
The root of the problem is that we now live in a world with international markets. American producers have to compete with those of other countries. If American labor costs are higher, there's no way to be price competitive. We could become isolationist with high tariff protections and a minimum of international trade, but we would surely stagnate. > It's basically > business and political leaders pulling the rug out from under it's > citizens to increase stockholder wealth, plain and simple. It's not that simple. Unprofitable enterprises can't survive. Stockholder profit is a function of being profitable, and that's a plus, not a minus. > I won't > vouch for all the claims made on this website but I believe it's > basically correct: > > http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/ > > Communism collapsed under the weight of it's own inefficiency and lack > of moral legitimacy. It's leaders acquired and maintained power and > wealth through fear, and control. > > Capitalism appears to be imploding because it's leaders (business and > political) are more interested in acquiring and maintaining power and > wealth for themselves than in seeing to it that the average person has > the means to make a decent living and provide for their families. It's > quickly losing it's moral legitimacy as well. When capitalism finally > devours the citizens it's built upon, it will be dead. What we need to survive is entrepreneurship and innovation. But government regulation and overtaxation make that difficult. However, we are making progress. GM now sells more cars in China than anyone else, because they've developed products that market wants. We've made good gains in some efficient energy fields, including batteries and thin-film solar. But we have to continue to encourage development. We can thrive as a service industry, innovation and management society, while leaving much of the production to countries with cheap labor. But we have to strive to remain competitive. > > Put another way, when inflated self-interest turns into blatant > disinterest in the welfare of others the system becomes strained, and > historically breaks. > We are a leading producer of whine:-). Paul > But I digress, this was about Kodak. > > Tom C. > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
