(no subject)

[kmusser]

via Techdirt:

A fascinating article in defense of outsourcing.

Curious to know others opinions, but please do not comment unless you've actually read the article.

Comments

so I read it.

[zammis.livejournal.com]

The thoughts I have:

- if there are all these jobs being created, where are they? and in what fields? and who qualifies for them? I don't think its as easy a solution as the author states. Sure, there are tons of service and retail jobs opeing up for crap pay that a former call center person could get, but that doesn't make up for the 50% pay cut they are taking. and these companies for the most aprt are NOT retaining call center people to become marketing people- they're laying off a 40 yr old non-college grad guy and hiring a fresh college grad.

-that being said- when I was in school, my parents held me down and forced me to read the Labor department's report on jobs that was out at the time (late 80's /early 90s) the one thing I carried away fromt hat is that we cannot expect to train for and hold one career anymore- that the average is going to be more like 2-3 in our lifetimes. But for some reason this message has not gone out to the general populace. :) People can and should take more responsibility for retraining themselves and expecting to not have their jobs forever. This may mean for that 40-yr old guy he's going to ahv to go get a degree, or learn a trade. They can't outsource fixing a car or unclogging a toilet. ANd those jobs are going to stay here, and grow more.

-not everyone is going to have creativity and chutzpah to ahve a white-collar job anymore, as its being redefined. I think its going to mean the definition of a "good job" is going to change for a large amount of the middle class, to trades and similar things that would not have been considered "good jobs" before. Like the article says- anything over a wire can be outsourced. It would be nice if corporations gave a damn about peple and softened that, but as the average white-collar chick, I'm looking to face reality. Now if I could just find a "service" job that I could handle. Bartending anyone?

[hexar-le-saipe.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with the author on most points. When we hear about jobs being outsourced to other countries, most of the time the only part that we hear is that "1000 jobs in the ACME textile factory were lost when ACME opened up a new factory in Whereverland." We are told (or assume) that the sole reason is that the workers on the recieving end of the job shift are willing to work for a fraction of American workers, instead of looking at other factors that affect the decision (such as the cost of sugar in the candycane anecdote.) We also never seem to hear about the cases where moving jobs in one sector out of the country actually create jobs here.

A word about the "Jobless Recovery." A recent story on NPR gave me something to think about when we're asking where the jobs are... how many people are working truckloads of overtime right now just because they're fighting to justify their continued employment? It's not so much something that I have to worry about, but I do know that especially in white collar areas that the phrase "Mandatory Unpaid Overtime" comes up a lot. How many jobs are we being screwed out of because we're all too scared to go home when the whistle blows?

[klyf23.livejournal.com]

"The creation of new jobs overseas will eventually lead to more jobs and higher incomes in the United States."

I want some of what this guy is smoking. I (used to) work in manufacturing.

"...the political temptation to scapegoat foreigners is simply too great."

More bullshit. It's not the foreigner's fault. It's the damned American companies who could give two shits less if an American is starving, 'cause it's cheaper to pay some yak herder a month what an American would have to be paid in a day. No OSHA, either.

[kmusser]

Reposting a "counterpoint" article pointed out by americanbadass.

[selki.livejournal.com]

I think it's good that my company employs testers overseas; that way when we come in in the morning, progress has been made, we know stuff about the build I did before leaving at the end of the day, etc. It will be even better when they're better trained and are better at communicating about the issues they've discovered/closed.

As for the article, the candy cane story was interesting, but I know people who've lost jobs, and I know my job is a bit more at risk than it used to be (and will be even more so in the future), and I am placing no reliance in the article's airy assertions about future job growth making the problem less of a problem. Plus, there's no saying for sure that offshoring will stick to the tech work that takes less training/experience, as workers overseas get more practice (sometimes over here). As long as there is such a disparity in cost of living between countries, offshoring will be a concern.