[spintreebob]

There are good paying jobs, as in IT.
There are low paying jobs in unskilled factory work.
Not all jobs are the same. Not all offshoring is the same.

In IT I’ve worked in 35+ big IT shops. I’ve repeatedly seen where 2 or 3 big projects are budgeted. Project managers are announced and they try to staff up the projects. Repeatedly there just are not enough qualified people to staff up the projects. Management is faced with 3 choices.

1. Kill one or more projects. Shift the half-staff of that project to the other half-staffed project so it is fully staffed.
2. Off shore one or more of the projects.
3. Hire immigrants (green card, H1b, Tourist, student visa and visa “in progress”, meaning nothing at this time.)

Now a 4th option exists for IT. Much IT work can be automated. If IT automation increases, which of the above 3 is it most likely to impact? I suggest #1. With automation fewer projects will be killed. That means the total number of projects will increase.

Malthusian-Guttmacher types see a fixed size to the pie and issues of how the pieces of the pie will be fairly cut and distributed... and who will do the cutting and distribution of those pie slices.

Adam Smith-Capitalist types see the size of the pie as variable. The total size of the pie can grow.

... and It can shrink with high taxes and government regulations ... and trade tariffs and regulations are ultimately the same as any other government stupidity.

Of course, long term, the answer is a better education system. Our lack of skilled people is a direct result of our failed government education system. We have people who hold BA, BS, MA, MS in STEM fields and they have no idea how to determine cause and effect. They have no idea of set processing, which is the basis of all relational and vertical databases. Their degree is in how to FEEL about STEM. Technology is their friend. Technology as progressive and socially responsible is their area of expertise.

[central_va]

Repeatedly there just are not enough qualified people to staff up the projects. Management is faced with 3 choices.

1. Kill one or more projects. Shift the half-staff of that project to the other half-staffed project so it is fully staffed.

2. Off shore one or more of the projects.

3. Hire immigrants (green card, H1b, Tourist, student visa and visa “in progress”, meaning nothing at this time.)

Bull. If they payed more money they'd have been able to staff up. It is called supply and demand. They were low balling and not getting anyone.