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And one thing is clear, unless times are dire, the masses remain apathetic, populist and celebrity-bound. Hitler knew this to a "T."
And when things get extreme, they will vote for either saviour or hero or against the scapegoat.
S.
OK, so democracy is a process. Allegedly one vote to a person, right? However in the U.S. (formally a democratic republic according to it's own CIA) the rules clearly favor the few.
But of course that was the intent from the beginning. The founding fathers were concerned with "tyranny of the masses" and intentionally "checked and balanced" against the outcome the felt was most assured by a true democracy. That the many would vote the wealth away from the few.
Sorry if my point wasn't clear the first time around.
As it pertains to this discussion the situation should be clear. Outsourcing allows the rich to get richer, the legal system is weighted in the direction of the rich, so therefore it happened. (E.g. NAFTA, GATT, AGOA, etc.)
Bottom line, the few see the many as cattle or other beast of burden to be harnessed and/or discarded as neccessary, despite all rhetoric pertaining to "democracy". That should be clear to anyone with even just a passing interest in the situation.
There are some incredibly great minds on this board
What is the solution for U.S.A?
I have deduced that the only things that China, India etal have not yet been able to produce/we don't outsource are:
1) Hollywood Celebrities
2) World Famous Rock Stars/Bands
Scary, b/c our celebs and music are getting worse every year too
On a serious note though, the outsourcing, among the hiring of foreign workers (legal or not) has been nibbling at the middle class for years...is there any solution or is the middle class officially extinct?
What are people going to do? Are people going to start living in communes or what, just to survive?
P.S. I recall reading that a politician's office in Pasadena hired a receptionist...in India...to handle their office's phone. Really. I would not/could not make this up.
Based on the above scenario the short sited so called "educated" CEO would go offshore. This would work in the near term(last couple of decades), but at some point (like now) it will bite you.
When you put your customer base in the unemployment line or too many become underemployed it doesn't matter how cheap your labor is if there isn't anyone left that can afford your product.
How would you solve your customer problem? Remember your people manufacturing your products don't make enough to buy the stuff they make either.
I think your statement and question emphasize the problem at hand. CEO's are driven by Shareholders. Shareholders primary concern is the immediate value of the stock. Business leaders of public companies are not given the option of investing for the future by operating at a loss in the present.
For example, in your personal portfolio, Woud you rather buy and sell a stock for a guaranteed but small profit or risk buying a stock knowing it is going to go down in value for the short term, but with a higher upside long-term?
Anyone who would choose the latter over the former would be best served with keeping their money stuffed under the mattress.
check into how much it costs to expatriate to another country. Australia I believe costs around $5000. So if youre broke explain how can you come up with the $5000 to cover moving to another country?
Also would you move to another country with no job?? Most countries will hire a citizen of that country before they would hire a foreigner.
didnt think it through now did we
Furthermore, most countries are not nearly as "lenient" on immigrants as the US is.
There are some incredibly great minds on this board
What is the solution for U.S.A?
I have deduced that the only things that China, India etal have not yet been able to produce/we don't outsource are:
1) Hollywood Celebrities
2) World Famous Rock Stars/Bands
Scary, b/c our celebs and music are getting worse every year too
On a serious note though, the outsourcing, among the hiring of foreign workers (legal or not) has been nibbling at the middle class for years...is there any solution or is the middle class officially extinct?
What are people going to do? Are people going to start living in communes or what, just to survive?
P.S. I recall reading that a politician's office in Pasadena hired a receptionist...in India...to handle their office's phone. Really. I would not/could not make this up.
Here's the problem from a working person's point of view as I used to describe it when NAFTA was being discussed.
The wages in each country are like a water level... in the aquarium there's a pane of glass separating the high water in the USA from the lower water in Mexico... when NAFTA removes that pane of glass (i.e. the border) then the water will seek it's own level. Mexican salaries might go up a bit... USA salaries down to meet the competition.
So now that China, India, et. al. are supplying labor... USA workers are being forced by their own leaders to drop down to prevailing world wages... rather that leaders trying to bring the standard of living up to the USA level worldwide.
Now if we were really trying to build a better world, we'd do the thing that is expensive here, and build a high quality of living everywhere. Or more correctly, if our leaders were leading us to the world *we* want.
However, they are really leading us to the world *they* want (in my opinion) and, as stated earlier, I believe, from their perspective that makes us just one more commodity to deal with.
However, they are really leading us to the world *they* want (in my opinion) and, as stated earlier, I believe, from their perspective that makes us just one more commodity to deal with.
I think you're spot on. Corporations are offshoring not to be good global citizens and bring up the quality of life globally. They are making use of cheap labor with no regulations.
Heck, even China and India are starting to cost more so they are now looking at Vietnam for offshore work.
I think you're spot on. Corporations are offshoring not to be good global citizens and bring up the quality of life globally. They are making use of cheap labor with no regulations.
Heck, even China and India are starting to cost more so they are now looking at Vietnam for offshore work.
Yeah, and China has started to look towards Africa. Last I heard for hard commodities, but who knows, maybe labor next?
In my opinion infrastructure outsourcing is no doubt a tactic to reduce cost but that itself is not the sole intention. It is actually trying to improve efficiency by concentrating on our core area and outsourcing the not so critical activities to someone for whom that part is a core competency.
For all the bellyaching about outsourcing, nobody seems to mind insourcing when, say, Honda builds a plant here or when Sony Pictures sets up a studio in southern Californa. Globalization cuts both ways.
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What's the future for U.S.A. then?
