Posted on 05/05/2007 5:40:08 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
I'm a free trader down to my toes. Always have been. Yet lately, I'm being treated as a heretic by many of my fellow economists. Why? Because I have stuck my neck out and predicted that the offshoring of service jobs from rich countries such as the United States to poor countries such as India may pose major problems for tens of millions of American workers over the coming decades. In fact, I think offshoring may be the biggest political issue in economics for a generation.
When I say this, many of my fellow free-traders react with a mixture of disbelief, pity and hostility. Blinder, have you lost your mind? (Answer: I think not.) Have you forgotten about the basic economic gains from international trade? (Answer: No.) Are you advocating some form of protectionism? (Answer: No !) Aren't you giving aid and comfort to the enemies of free trade? (Answer: No, I'm trying to save free trade from itself.)
The reason for my alleged apostasy is that the nature of international trade is changing before our eyes. We used to think, roughly, that an item was tradable only if it could be put in a box and shipped. That's no longer true. Nowadays, a growing list of services can be zapped across international borders electronically. It's electrons that move, not boxes. We're all familiar with call centers, but electronic service delivery has already extended to computer programming, a variety of engineering services, accounting, security analysis and a lot else. And much more is on the way.
Why do I say much more? Because two powerful, historical forces are driving these changes, and both are virtually certain to grow stronger over time.
The first is technology, especially information and communications technology, which has been improving . . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It is worse than you might think. Folks are flying to India for heart surgery and cosmetic surgery and saving money doing it. What is more is they can recuperate at a resort! And still save money.
He doesn’t make the point that you get virtually no help from “Robert” when you call tech support for anything. Hell, I’ve actually solved a computer problem while talking to “Robert” and told him the solution.
That’s going to stop soon. One of the biggest targets of the greens is air travel. 10 years from now you won’t be able to go to India.
I was on the line with a “Chris” from dell tech support once who had such an accent that he might as well had been speakin Hindi. So for fun until I convinced him to shoot me up the chain the the next tier of support, I laid on my southern/Texas draw on hard. He lost it after a few minutes.
That was interesting. A good test case to watch in the next coupe of years will be IBM. Their plan is to have NO tech support people left in the US. I and a couple of my team mates just got the 30 day notice and I must say I was relieved to be leaving the company.
Granted, it's anecdotal, but in my case speaking to a more "technologically-backward" tech did the trick. I fixed three machines at once.
IBM, or Lenovo?
Salary equalization is happening much more rapidly than expected. One thing about programmers and accountants is that they are not stupid, they understand their value to their employers and will seek to maximize salaries. If you factor in exchange rates fluctations, the advantage that India once enjoyed is shrinking rapidly.
Hilarious!
I canceled my American Express account after I got a call from their "security" department (about some fishy charges) and on the other end of the line was "Bob" in Bangalore.
Offshoring back-office jobs is bad enough. But when these companies effectively flip their customers the bird to save a few bucks -- that is really bad.
Yep, I've always wanted to answer "Robert" from tech support by saying in a pronounced Suth'un drawl (or the best fake I can manage) that my name is "Patel". And keep it up until he loses it.
Cheers!
Patel, whispering, hand over headset
"I have some guy with a fake Southern accent on the line."Sanjay, whispering back from next cube
"String him along until he loses it. Use your accent."
I think that, despite being a lefty, Prof. Blinder would be a natural ally of the protectionist-wing here. Problem is, they can’t get over their fear of competition itself enough to agree with him.
btt
“IBM, or Lenovo?”
IBM Global Services, mainframe storage management.
Not only are there not going to be jobs left in this country, China is already poisoning people and pets with their imorted contaminated food and ingredients.
I don’t like it at all.
"Now, an actual bill called the "Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act" (S1082), sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), is on the Senate floor.
Be careful of who you vote for you may just get him!They attempt to pass themselves off as Conservative.
I am for whatever keeps them home and out of my neighborhood.
Duncan Hunter is the only one addressing this issue. I’m still doing homework on the candidates.
All globalization defenders are economic determinists.
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