What are you Dreading the most...

[IrvineRenter_IHB]

I fear Obama won't go far enough in changing everything George W. Bush ever did.

 

[no_vaseline_IHB]

Thanks for the links. These are exactly the reasons free trade is again under debate. Conceptually, comparitive advantage is unassailable. In practice is doesn't appear to have much merit. The huge gulf between developed and developing market standards of living basically makes domestic employees totally uncompetitive in a great number of fields. However, given that we are competing globally, I can't see a way around it.

If fossil fuels truly are depleting, rising costs to transport goods will negate the edge provided by lower labor costs.

As we moved from a production based economy to a knowlege based economy over the last 20 years, the internet made it possible to remotely place these knowlege based jobs at whatever the location of lowest production is - and quickly.

The demand for domestic electrical/mechanical/automotive engineers has colapsed.

 

[no_vaseline_IHB]

about an Obama presidency?

Being taxed to the point where we have to cut jobs

Where has this ever happened? Taxes come out of profits.

I know you're upset, but at least stop spewing outright falsehoods.

 

[EvaLSeraphim_IHB]

Thanks for the links. These are exactly the reasons free trade is again under debate. Conceptually, comparitive advantage is unassailable. In practice is doesn't appear to have much merit. The huge gulf between developed and developing market standards of living basically makes domestic employees totally uncompetitive in a great number of fields. However, given that we are competing globally, I can't see a way around it.

If fossil fuels truly are depleting, rising costs to transport goods will negate the edge provided by lower labor costs.

For hard goods manufacturing, I think that is true. Knowledge work (IT programming, help desk, etc.) can be done anywhere now with little extra costs.

Late to the party and turning into a freaking parrot.

 

[EvaLSeraphim_IHB]

Americans are incredibly good at innovation and development of new products and technologies. Essentially, knowledge workers who do something that can be commoditized (i.e., that particular worker has no unique skill that can't be replicated by someone else) are the new manufacturing workers. It's just that the commidity knowledge work was cut, as a category, in America much faster than manufacturing was. I think you had a good four or five generations of manufacturing work, but only one or two of knowledge work. Part of the uncertainty lies in how quickly the knowledge work went away in the US.

Not to get all Tom Peters on you (who?), but I think the key to surviving is doing something that other can't easily do, or something that can't be moved elsewhere easily. My husband was an IT worker, saw the outsourcing on the horizon and trained for management - the part of the project that can't be outsourced. Others have chosen to create new things (stuff or processes). I think the answer is not to bemoan what was, but to ask "What's next?" I'm not saying it's easy, but I think it's one answer.

 

[Nude_IHB]

Thanks for the links. These are exactly the reasons free trade is again under debate. Conceptually, comparitive advantage is unassailable. In practice is doesn't appear to have much merit. The huge gulf between developed and developing market standards of living basically makes domestic employees totally uncompetitive in a great number of fields. However, given that we are competing globally, I can't see a way around it.

If fossil fuels truly are depleting, rising costs to transport goods will negate the edge provided by lower labor costs.

For hard goods manufacturing, I think that is true. Knowledge work (IT programming, help desk, etc.) can be done anywhere now with little extra costs.

Late to the party and turning into a freaking parrot.

My wife works for a rather large software company. The lack of qualified graduates has forced them into looking for talent from around the world and, when they find it, trying to secure them H1B visas so they can come work here. As those visas are being artificially restricted, her company has been forced to build and staff locations around the world while still paying them a salary that they would get in the US. The extra costs are not just infrastructure, but travel, lodging, and everything else that goes along with creating a workplace somewhere else. This company would ideally like to hire domestically, but if the pool of available talent doesn't meet their needs, their second choice would be to import those people. The very last thing they want to do is build company towns around the world just to stay competitive because it is incredibly inefficient when it comes to actually creating something that requires input and co-operation from so many individuals.

Phone-based customer support is one thing, because a few weeks of training can supply you with plenty of workers. It's not the same for people who need specific college degrees to even get an interview.

 

[no_vaseline_IHB]

Others have chosen to create new things (stuff or processes). I think the answer is not to bemoan what was, but to ask "What's next?" I'm not saying it's easy, but I think it's one answer.

Ultimately that's the only answer. You can't go back in time - only forward.

 

[WestparkRenter_IHB]

Thanks for the links. These are exactly the reasons free trade is again under debate. Conceptually, comparitive advantage is unassailable. In practice is doesn't appear to have much merit. The huge gulf between developed and developing market standards of living basically makes domestic employees totally uncompetitive in a great number of fields. However, given that we are competing globally, I can't see a way around it.

If fossil fuels truly are depleting, rising costs to transport goods will negate the edge provided by lower labor costs.

For hard goods manufacturing, I think that is true. Knowledge work (IT programming, help desk, etc.) can be done anywhere now with little extra costs.

Late to the party and turning into a freaking parrot.

My wife works for a rather large software company. The lack of qualified graduates has forced them into looking for talent from around the world and, when they find it, trying to secure them H1B visas so they can come work here. As those visas are being artificially restricted, her company has been forced to build and staff locations around the world while still paying them a salary that they would get in the US. The extra costs are not just infrastructure, but travel, lodging, and everything else that goes along with creating a workplace somewhere else. This company would ideally like to hire domestically, but if the pool of available talent doesn't meet their needs, their second choice would be to import those people. The very last thing they want to do is build company towns around the world just to stay competitive because it is incredibly inefficient when it comes to actually creating something that requires input and co-operation from so many individuals.

Phone-based customer support is one thing, because a few weeks of training can supply you with plenty of workers. It's not the same for people who need specific college degrees to even get an interview.

You DON"T need a lot of training for IT. The IT managers that I befriended with at one company, used to call a local community college looking for people. In the peak these people were getting paid nearly 6-figure for just a few courses at CC.

 

[ogredave_IHB]

Nude,

That's weird, in my case it's been the opposite. But, I work at a VAR. One of our customers outsourced things, and the developer they provided sucked.

 

[irvine_home_owner_IHB]

Others have chosen to create new things (stuff or processes). I think the answer is not to bemoan what was, but to ask "What's next?" I'm not saying it's easy, but I think it's one answer.

Ultimately that's the only answer. You can't go back in time - only forward.

Hah... than how did I know you were going to post that before you did?

 

[WINEX_IHB]

The impact on the economy of increased taxes and protectionist trade policies that are likely to be enacted with one party rule.

 

[bltserv_IHB]

Winex.

Just get off you lazy butt and work harder.

You whine like a little girl. Man up and get a pair.

We all pay taxes. In California we pay more.

Its going to take a 20 years to fix the debt GW has left us with.

Love those fiscal conservatives.

They spend like a crack whore with a Black Amex Card.