Where the Good Jobs Are Going

Time Canada ^ | August 4, 2003 | Jyoti Thottam

[Life of Brian]

Don't think your post #7 is good news for house painters. lol

[Huck]

To call someone a loser who you do not know is very shallow.

I didn't call him a loser. I said:

Maybe the guy was misquoted, but he sounds like a real loser.

And I stand by that.

[sauropod]

True. And as long as the "gimmie" crowd insists on their subsidized prescription drugs, their subsidized medical care, and their subsidized other items, a middle class income will not be enough to attain independance.

Our Founders are turning over in their graves wrt our tax system.

[clamper1797]

$300,000 or more

In the Bay Area ???? hehehe the only "house" that you will find for $300,000 has a sign that says "Fido" on it

[stylin19a]

Not that it still doesn't hurt, but what goes round comes round.

Under NAFTA, US jobs went to Mexicao, and US workers bitched. Then those same jobs went from Mexico to China. Mexican workers bitched.

The same will happen to India. These jobs will eventually go to China (or come back here).

A Mid-East staple market - rug making - is already long gone to China.

Furniture making is long gone to Malaysia.
All those roads will lead to China.

[Huck]

Actually, you DO live in New Jersey. And you think $54,000 is a good salary?

For half a household? Sure. The article doesn't mention the missus. If she can pull down 23K they will be right where they were. Or, if she already works, then times aren't as desparate as the article suggests. I wonder how many cars they own, what models, what size TV, what sort of cable/dish subscription, and other niceties they still maintain.

But my point is simply this: His employer isn't responsible for his finances. It's his mortgage and his bills. Live within your means and quit WHINING.

[Huck]

Regardless, $54,000 isn't a good salary in Northeastern New Jersey, especially with three kids.

Then move. Or, he could just keep whining about it.

[Huck]

Oh, yeah, I sure am smarting! LOL.

[Question_Assumptions]

The biggest tax problem in New Jersey is property taxes and spending more than $8000 per year on students when many private schools can and do give students a better education for less money is a crime. Of course New Jersey could have had a governor who was for school vouchers and cutting taxes instead of a sleazy politician who is in the pocket of more sleazy special interest groups than Bob Torricelli but New Jersey voters just had to protect their abortion rights and gun control at the expense of common sense. The election of McGreevey is the only thing more baffling than the election of Frank Lautenberg's corpse. I can only hope that McGreevey will create a Florio-like religious experience for New Jersey voters.

[dfwgator]

As a fellow ITer, I can say that most of the non-IT people in this country do not care about our plight, they think we were overpaid for sitting at our cubes. As far as the rest of the world, they love to see the US standard of living get knocked down a peg or two.

The bottom line is, don't expect anyone to help, especially the government. It's not what many want to hear, but it's the truth.

[drachenfels]

As usual, it's a story written by the media with only a shallow understanding of reality.

My last employer (now gone) attempted this by using H1B code cutters to replace full-time staff. There was NO savings, as the temp folks cost more initially, had no foundation skill set, took forever to learn what they needed to do, tried to spend their days chatting on IM with friends from back home... and so on.

MOST companies that attempt this are in for a bath, and I'm not talking about something that will clean them up.
;-)

Me... I'm a network geek; they're going to catch hell farming out what I do to somebody 6,000 miles away!

[Question_Assumptions]

They are looking in the "hour-and-a-half commute" eastern suburb areas. Actually, the one house that come up on realtor.com for under $300,000 did look like "Fido" belonged over the door.

[Huck]

Actually, I was just doing my imitation of the folks whose jobs are not yet on the offshoring track.

I guess to me it boils down to self sufficiency. Don't get yourself into stuff you can't get out of. I am sorry the guy bought more house than he could afford. I am sorry he didn't save enough money when he was making a good salary. I am sorry he didn't prepare himself to be able to make money on his own if he had to. That's all a shame and I wish him the best of luck. But whining doesn't do any good, and folks have made it through much worse. My grandma raised three kids by herself through the Depression. This guy shutting off lights in the house isn't going to make me shed any tears. It's called capitalism and the free market. If you can't stand the heat, become a socialist.

[Redcloak]

To protect domestic jobs, U.S. labor activists are pushing to limit the number of H-1B and L-1 visas granted to foreign workers.

This is the wrong approach. They should be going India and organizing labor unions. Once they do that, the Indian workers will be as expensive to use as Americans!

[Wolfie]

When we accept third world standards of living, then we'll be able to compete. Of course, there won't be many capitalists left at that point.

[dfwgator]

Then outsourcing to Africa makes sense. Many speak English there as well. I think that is why Bush is starting to pay attention to Africa, the corporations see it as the last bastion of cheap labor once India becomes too costly.

[clamper1797]

Well ... a lot of people are doing just that ... moving to the eastern suburbs like Tracy Manteca and Brentwood ... and RUINING the quality of life out there (where I also happen to live). They are turning beautiful farm land into a little Orange county.

[Huck]

Much of what you say is true. A lot of folks figure hey, you had a good ride, but it's over, which seems to be true. To me it's just common sense. We all knew at the time that it was an insane stock market--ok, not everyone knew, but come on, you had to have your head in the sand not to know--everyone knew that times were really cooking, that CEOs were delirious about the New Economy and were buying into it BIG TIME. And so, unless you were a total moron, you had to know it was going to end. Just common sense would tell you.

So what do you do? Well, if you are smart, you might try saving that money, and/or investing it wisely and prudently, while continuing to maintain a reasonable, frugal standard of living. But many didn't. And now they are on the curb.

I don't know. Maybe it's me. I am not that old, but I have already "retooled" myself a few times, and I basically go on the idea that a) no one owes me a living and b) you gotta huck and chuck to survive in this world. So I don't let it get me down if the stock market's down, or there's a war, or a recession, or whatever. Those are all just excuses to fail.

[Huck]

They are turning beautiful farm land into a little Orange county.

Capitalism.

[Huck]

Hmmm, I guess I need to accept that threads on this topic are pity parties. It's like when a woman is upset about something and tells you about, you're not supposed to offer solutions? She just wants to bitch? Same deal here. Nuff said.