U.S. tech workers feeling pinch of new world economy

©2003 Copley News Service ^ | June 10, 2003 | Phyllis Schlafly

[Rodsomnia]

Outsourcing goverment workers seems like a good idea to me.

Once enough of them (government workers) are unemployed we might get some immigrtation and tax relief.

Fear of the private sector is a powerful motivator.

[Drango]

Morgan Stanley plans to experiment with hiring stock analysts in India

Hard to see how they could do any worse than the domestic ones...

[Sgt Hulka 123]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Drango]

Business Week reported that L-1 visas were the ticket of entry to take a U.S. job for half of Tata's 5,000 workers, for one-third of Infosys' 3,000 U.S.-based workers, and for 32 percent of Wipro's U.S. employees. L-1 visas enable Indian workers to replace U.S. workers.

There are some reports that 'cause L1's can be paid by the country their from, they pay ZERO US taxes.

[Tax-chick]

I'm disappointed at Schlafly's just rehashing a pile of factoids without any analysis. News outlets are paying her to think of something.

[Archangelsk]

No offense Tax-chick, but I think you're alive to think for yourself. I don't need Ms. Schlafly's opinion(s) to come to my own conclusion.

[expat_panama]

If anyone here believes that a business grad from Bhopal can analyze the balance sheet of a US company just as well as a Harvard MBA, then I've got some gold mining stock to sell them.

But then again, there are many who call themselves conservatives and turn right around and raise taxes (tariffs), and bloat federal power to force me to buy from their cronies.

These so-called "America-firster's" slander US workers when they say that we can't compete with those elsewhere.  The facts are that Americans are the best educated and most productive in the world. Schlafly may think that her talents could be easily replaced by those of a journalist grad from say, the University of Havana, but the rest of us have a lot more confidence in the market value of our abilities.

[Tax-chick]

Whoa! All I said was that this column wasn't one of her best efforts. No opinion at all offered on the content,folks!

[Im Your Huckleberry]

So if we outsource every possible job in our "new economy" what does that leave us with?

Lawyers, Judges, Politicians, and fast food restaurant workers...

[Tax-chick]

I don't need Ms. Schlafly's opinion(s) to come to my own conclusion.

Why read her column, then? Almost all this content came from other sources, anyway.

[skeeter]

These so-called "America-firster's" slander US workers when they say that we can't compete with those elsewhere.

Who says an American can't get by on $12k per year?

[lelio]

Morgan Stanley plans to experiment with hiring stock analysts in India
What goes for "stock analyst" today is nothing more than "Are they mentioned in the WSJ today?" Plus all the big firms have major conflicts of interest covering stocks. I'll trust a used car salesman before I trust a major Wall Street firm's stock analysis.
The independant research firms will get a lot of business out of this as everyone's been burned by WS recommendations.

To add to this, Wall Street is looking for a new crop of suckers to buy their wares. They have to setup shop in India as money is flowing into there and they need some goodwill in the country. I give it 3 years before there's a major scandal of them scamming money.

[A. Pole]

Not only is the claim made by many tech companies that the United States suffers a shortage of computer programmers and engineers a fraud, but so is the claim that the aliens they import have specialized knowledge that is needed to retain the tech industry's competitive edge.

If the process continues for longer this claim might become true as the expertise will shift to the foreigners.

[harpseal]

Well one of the big factors involved in the outsourcing to India is that the US government subsidizes the offshore projects. ...Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency that helps American businesses invest overseas and encourages economic development in emerging markets, to provide loans of up to $250 million per project.. I am an America firster who wants the immigration laws enforced so we are not importing H1B and L1 foreign guest workers specifically to increase the American unemployement numbers and who thinks that if producing stuff outsde the USA and importing the products to the USA is such a wonderful idea why does it need tazpayer funding?

No, I do not say the US worker can not compete in a free market but I do say the current market is a rigged game with the American taxpayer hit on to subsidize shipping jobs offshore. reference article for above quote is at Here.

[harpseal]

If the process continues for longer this claim might become true as the expertise will shift to the foreigners.

You are quite correct in this and everyone should remember our military IT was built on a broad base of Civilian IT. China is becoming a major player in IT outsourcing because they are cheaper than India. china has realized the critical military nature of IT and is devoted to catching up in that field before even worrying about things like ships and palnes and tanks. they analyzed teh US performance in the Iraq war and have reached the conclusion that greatest US edge our military has is out IT so needless to say government polices of teh Clinton Administration are designed to destroy the infrastructure suport for our American advantage.

[varon]

A graduate of the Indian Institutes of Technology with a master's in business administration can be hired for $12,000. Compare that to the average starting salary or $102,338 for a Harvard Business School graduate.

Something doesn't ring true in this comparison. If the Indian MBA is doing the same work as the Harvard grad then how can the Harvard grad ask for the $102K and who would be foolish enough to pay it? Doesn't the law of supply and demand apply to the MBAs or could it be they don't think it applies to them and that they are "entitled" to such high starting salaries? Seems as though they have a union mentality!

[KCmark]

No doubt. We might as well ship our military making complexes offshore.

[YankeeReb]

As one executive, who has no shame about replacing U.S. citizens with foreigners, said, "If it can be done by sitting at a desk in front of a computer, then it can be done abroad."

Which is exactly why I'm getting the h*ll out of IT after 15 years. My income will suffer but at least I'll be working.

[expat_panama]

Something doesn't ring true in this comparison.

That's because it isn't true.  Every few months the Economist magazine runs a new article about some professor who 'discovers' once again that American workers are more productive than those of other countries.  The Japanese may work longer hours, but the Americans work a lot smarter.  When you go to the third world the problems are even more sever.

Those that are hiring have found out that the American Harvard MBA simply does ten times as much work as the Indian.  I've hired construction workers internationally for three decades and have always found that the guys I've hired for $7 per day were worth every penny of it.  

[harpseal]

As one executive, who has no shame about replacing U.S. citizens with foreigners, said, "If it can be done by sitting at a desk in front of a computer, then it can be done abroad."

It can certainly be done anywhere but if you need a giovernment handout to make it economically feasable to do it abroad then it is time to stop the government handouts that are harming America. Clearly anyone can do anything but this shipping jobs offshore is dependent upon government financing to get the job done and we had best stop before it is no longer dependant upon the government dole and it comes back to destroy us.