americans are crying about losing jobs to foreign countries...

[Dancing Fire]

but.....how many of us are willing to work for $5 a day? the good side of it,we get to buy cheaper products. i.e...all electronic goods are cheaper today then 15-20 yrs ago.i would still buy american made products, if i had a choice.

 

[lost on 5th]

i agree ....im not loosing any sleep over it. my company farms work out to foreign countries. we get a higher quality work for a lower price than we can get in the US. (typically this is for lower level production work that would be a low paying position in the US and is now a higher paying position outside US).

i think global business makes for better end product as well.

 

[qtiekiki]

I agree to some extent, but how do you feel about foreign countries such as China that are keeping their currency value low in order to keep labor cost low? In that case are the workers really willing to work for $5 a day? or do they even have a choice? From the U.S. standpoint, it''s business and profit, and cheaper products for consumers. On the other hand, it''s the question of ethic. I think it''s important to have a balance, but it would be hard to achieve with different countries and politics involved.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/16/2006 1:53:39 PM
Author: qtiekiki
I agree to some extent, but how do you feel about foreign countries such as China that are keeping their currency value low in order to keep labor cost low? In that case are the workers really willing to work for $5 a day? or do they even have a choice? From the U.S. standpoint, it''s business and profit, and cheaper products for consumers. On the other hand, it''s the question of ethic. I think it''s important to have a balance, but it would be hard to achieve with different countries and politics involved.

i heard inside a village (rural area) they make about $110 USD per month.in the big cities maybe like $200 USD per month.

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 2/17/2006 1:03:33 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 2/16/2006 1:53:39 PM
Author: qtiekiki
I agree to some extent, but how do you feel about foreign countries such as China that are keeping their currency value low in order to keep labor cost low? In that case are the workers really willing to work for $5 a day? or do they even have a choice? From the U.S. standpoint, it''s business and profit, and cheaper products for consumers. On the other hand, it''s the question of ethic. I think it''s important to have a balance, but it would be hard to achieve with different countries and politics involved.

i heard inside a village (rural area) they make about $110 USD per month.in the big cities maybe like $200 USD per month.

Yeah $5 a day is exaggerated, but it''s the idea of the government keeping their currency low that I was trying to get at. Then again, more and more people are getting wealthier over there as their economy gets better. But it''s kind of sad that college graduates get only $200 a month over there.

 

[movie zombie]

question: would you feel the same way if your job was outsourced and you could no longer afford those cheap imports?

more and more ''professional'' jobs are being outsourced. this is no longer a ''blue color'' problem. professionals in other countries will also work for less $$$ and will perform work as competently as professionals in this country. and its not just in the computer industry....CPA''s work is being outsourced.

movie zombie

 

[diamondlil]

My profession is under threat of outsourcing every day. I''m a medical transcriptionist and my main account is for a major hospital in the DC area. Foreign countries can perform many jobs cheaper but to what expense. It is very difficult to ensure the privacy of your medical records under HIPAA regulations when they are outsourced to other countries. From a personal financial perspective, I have not had a raise in pay in more years than I can remember, and I''ve been in the business for nearly 16 years.

 

[perry]

The problem is a bit deeper than that.

People - in general - will buy the cheapest item; regardless of quality. Only a few people are willing to pay more for a higher quality product.

Years ago the products from foreign countries was not necessary higher quality - but they outsold higher quality products in the US - thus starting the shift overseas. Foreign countries then found that since they had a cost advantage that people in the US would take advanatage of - that they could also start focusing on quality as well. The US manufactures, once the people of america voted with their dollar for cheaper products regardless of quality - could not stand a chance.

"Buy American Products" campaigns have failed many times - people will buy cheap over american over and over (and they wonder where the jobs are going, why to local manufacturuing plant is closing).

Add to the mix that the US is the only major industrilized country who lowered tarrifs on imports (we are going to help those people over there) which put US manufacturers at a further disadvantage (and many of the countries the US could export to still have high tarrifs on US imports).

Add to the mix that environmental protection laws in the US are - in general - the strictest in the world. The cost of a building and equipment is about the same worldwide to build a manufacturing plant. In the US that plant needs 2 million dollars of polution control equipment - in Mexico (and other countries) it needs ZERO dollars of polution control equipment. In the US that plant needs a staff of 5 to handle health and regualtory compliance. In Mexico (and other countries) that plant needs ZERO people to handle health and regulatory compliance.

If you were going to build a plant - where would you build it?

Loss of jobs - shifting of US dollars overseas - is reducing the quality of life in the US - and I don''t have a clue when or where it will end.

I have no problem helping other countries - but only on equal terms. You want us to drop terrifs. No problem; implement similar environmental and safety regulations on your country - and reduce your tarrifs on our exports - and we''ll reduce our tarrifs on yours: Should have been the deal.

Perry

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 2/17/2006 8:17:45 AM
Author: perry
The problem is a bit deeper than that.


I have no problem helping other countries - but only on equal terms. You want us to drop terrifs. No problem; implement similar environmental and safety regulations on your country - and reduce your tarrifs on our exports - and we''ll reduce our tarrifs on yours: Should have been the deal.

Perry

GATT, NAFTA, etc. were implemented to reduce trade barriers. unfortunately, environmental and safety regulations were not part of these agreements. the days of national laws regulating environment and safety will be long gone in the new ''free trade'' era.

diamondlil, i''ve been aware that those in your line of work have been effected by outsourcing. i have no doubt that privacy has been effected. but then this government is implementing a computer system for all our medical records which can be accessed by anyone related to the medical community....so i''m not so sure how much privacy is actually going to exist anyway. the expense of privacy is not a consideration: all that counts is the bottom dollar saved within the business community.

movie zombie

movie zombie

 

[decodelighted]

John Stossel did a report the other night that claimed, among many other things, that

American companies that out-source jobs overseas, most times end up actually end up increasing the number of jobs in the US.

"Made In The USA" clothes actually come from goverment subsidized cotton crops ... cotton can''t be grown in the US at a profit, so our tax money is being used to keep cotton farms in the USA going. Why? That land could be used for peaches, apples, countless other crops that DO make a profit. And the cotton farmers are doing everything they can to keep this sweetheart "welfare" deal. They were asked, are you like the welfare queens of the 80''s ... and they said ... "We prefer the term Welfare KINGS."

 

[codex57]

I hate when they outsource customer service to other countries. I know that Indian (it''s ALWAYS there) can speak passable English, but it annoys me cuz they read from a script and can''t deviate from it, even if they''re allowed to do what I''m asking. I''m talking simple things like calling a credit card to change address, and then asking them to look at another account but with the same credit card company. They do it only after going through some huge process.

Or, just call Dell and ask for help in fixing your computer.

Luckily, many companies are realizing that. Pretty soon, the US is going to be primarily service based jobs.

 

[movie zombie]

don''t forget the milk subsidy despite more milk than we can use and/or export as well as the rice subsidy. there are many others as well.

in fact, many of those countries that signed onto the free trade agreements are upset that this government subsidises agriculture and we may find ourselves in the WTO court [again] as giving agriculture an unfair trade advantage as a result of these subsidies. if ruled against, we will find taxpayer $$$ being used to pay fines....so in effect we''ll be paying twice for making cotton, milk, rice, and other crops worth growing.

taxpayer $$$ has already been used to pay fines when we were ruled against for allowing offshoring of corporation profits to the bahamas: unfair trade advantage to allow those companies to increase their profits by not paying taxes. so we the taxpayers lost twice: didn''t get corporation taxes to help fun this country and then our $$$ was used to pay fines incurred by this country for allowing ''unfair'' trade practices. notice the fine was against the country, not the corporation, and therefore the taxpayer got to pay the fines.

movie zombie