Carbon-driven global warming - a left-wing belief

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker

You think it's the engineers' jobs that go overseas when a factory closes?

Read "The world is flat" by Thomas Friedman. Engineers, computer scientists, and accounts are now being subjected to off shoring just as factory workers were 10-15 years ago. It's cheaper to hire an engineer in China or an accountant in India then it is in the US and most large companies have already moved their back room operations to lower cost locations. If you are an account or engineer in an expensive location the key to successfully competing is to offer superior service to your costumers (faster service, face to face service, service in the costumer's native language with his accent, etc...) and to give that personal touch which someone on the phone in India simply cannot do. They can also offer regional expertise which foreigners won't know which helps for complicated tax returns or what not in the accountant.

Failing that you find a job which isn't subject to increased global competition. A programmer can be any where but a geologist has to be local. Near the oil field, mine, or environmental sight in question so that the field work can be done. Since my field requires people to be state certified in my state it is unlikely that a Chinese geologist could get the necessary state certifications, build the repore with my clients (due to both language and physical distance problems), and be able to affordable do the necessary field work. It's concievable that they could master English and do some of the report writing but since most of the scientific papers require first hand knowledge of the site (and thus are done by the field geologist) I think I am safe.

[Dinner]

In short most industries, even highly skilled professions, are subject to international competition. If you want to compete you either offer better service or you offer something which the competition can't if you want to survive and thrive.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly


I have. Singapore is full of them, and they're making peanuts compred to the locals because, while they have degrees, their actual educations sucked.

Quality of education is vitally important and a major way to put one country's workers above another and thus attracted needed investment. Unfortunatly this is an area the US is not keeping pace in. Colleges in the US are excellent but many of the best schools are filled with foreigners because native students are to lazy/dumb/unmotivated/unqualified (take your pick) to win those spots in open competition. While the Indian or Chinese student recognizes that his whole family will continue to live in poverty unless they get that spot in Berkley (and the associated salary which generally goes to the Berkley grad). A superior education means a country is more likely to attract business investment and that it is better set to innovate thus insuring it's economic position.

If first world countries want to keep out competing other nations then the MUST do a better job at education then everyone else and they need to make sure people with good ideas can get the capital needed to turn good ideas into real businesses.

[Kuciwalker]

Who cares if our schools are filled with foreigners? The foreigners stay here and become Americans...

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Read "The world is flat" by Thomas Friedman. Engineers, computer scientists, and accounts are now being subjected to off shoring just as factory workers were 10-15 years ago.

I wasn't disputing that. I was disputing that the highly-skilled jobs are moving along with the low-skilled jobs, when they aren't - they're moved separately. And Friedman is a tool.

[Dinner]

Says the teenage boy with no real world experience.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Who cares if our schools are filled with foreigners? The foreigners stay here and become Americans...

The key is if they stay and become Americans. Increasingly that is not so. Ergo we must either do more to keep people here or better educate our own population. As competition heats up, and with globalization it will, education becomes one of the three pillars to continuing innovation and thus economic success.

[Dauphin]

Read "The world is flat" by Thomas Friedman. Engineers, computer scientists, and accounts are now being subjected to off shoring just as factory workers were 10-15 years ago. It's cheaper to hire an engineer in China or an accountant in India then it is in the US and most large companies have already moved their back room operations to lower cost locations. If you are an account or engineer in an expensive location the key to successfully competing is to offer superior service to your costumers (faster service, face to face service, service in the costumer's native language with his accent, etc...) and to give that personal touch which someone on the phone in India simply cannot do. They can also offer regional expertise which foreigners won't know which helps for complicated tax returns or what not in the accountant.

Failing that you find a job which isn't subject to increased global competition. A programmer can be any where but a geologist has to be local. Near the oil field, mine, or environmental sight in question so that the field work can be done. Since my field requires people to be state certified in my state it is unlikely that a Chinese geologist could get the necessary state certifications, build the repore with my clients (due to both language and physical distance problems), and be able to affordable do the necessary field work. It's concievable that they could master English and do some of the report writing but since most of the scientific papers require first hand knowledge of the site (and thus are done by the field geologist) I think I am safe.

Oerdin, you really need to work on your English, grammar and spelling. It's atrocious. I am having trouble understanding what you are meaning. I notice that it's happening more and more too.

Did you outsource your postings to India or China by any chance?

[Odin]

Originally posted by Oerdin


Read "The world is flat" by Thomas Friedman. Engineers, computer scientists, and accounts are now being subjected to off shoring just as factory workers were 10-15 years ago. It's cheaper to hire an engineer in China or an accountant in India then it is in the US and most large companies have already moved their back room operations to lower cost locations. If you are an account or engineer in an expensive location the key to successfully competing is to offer superior service to your costumers (faster service, face to face service, service in the costumer's native language with his accent, etc...) and to give that personal touch which someone on the phone in India simply cannot do. They can also offer regional expertise which foreigners won't know which helps for complicated tax returns or what not in the accountant.

Failing that you find a job which isn't subject to increased global competition. A programmer can be any where but a geologist has to be local. Near the oil field, mine, or environmental sight in question so that the field work can be done. Since my field requires people to be state certified in my state it is unlikely that a Chinese geologist could get the necessary state certifications, build the repore with my clients (due to both language and physical distance problems), and be able to affordable do the necessary field work. It's concievable that they could master English and do some of the report writing but since most of the scientific papers require first hand knowledge of the site (and thus are done by the field geologist) I think I am safe.

Tom Friedman = Corporatist Hack, like all the theologians of free trade.

[Dinner]

Funny, our resident wingnuts continually call him a left wing hack.

[Dinner]

Anyone else have trouble understanding the quoted passage? I consider it not bad since I'm 10 beers into a 12 pack.

[DAVOUT]

Originally posted by Oerdin

I note that this is good for everyone except the few people who work at the factory.

This is exactly my point : trade-unions and generally workers hate globalization which is different from being anti-industry.

As for the globalization being good for (almost) everyone, it has yet to be demonstrated.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Dauphin
Did you outsource your postings to India or China by any chance?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Funny, our resident wingnuts continually call him a left wing hack.

I never said he was a left wing hack. I said he was a tool. He happens to be a mostly right wing tool, in fact, but he's still a tool.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker


I never said he was a left wing hack. I said he was a tool. He happens to be a mostly right wing tool, in fact, but he's still a tool.

QFT