IBM lays off 15,000, HP 1300 [Outsourcing]

The Register ^ | 8/21/2003 | Andrew Orlowski

[hedgetrimmer]

Cuba and Vietnam "guarantee" jobs to people

Statistics show they don't guarantee jobs to everyone.

[harpseal]

Are we all doomed?

Every man that lives will die it is part of the way of life.

Come on you can do better try harder.

[warchild9]

It was not "idle chit chat in a restaurant." It was two laid-off IBM'er's ranting. You've obviously never known any IBM'ers. The ol-timers tend to treat that company as they would their parents, and they get very vocal when mom and dad kick them out of the house. As it were.

[Texas_Dawg]

Statistics show they don't guarantee jobs to everyone.

No kidding!! Good work!

Your tariffs attempting to guarantee jobs to people don't guarantee jobs either! Can you follow this?

[riri]

That means everyone else pays for it. No way

I have actually read an idea regarding risk management that could include livlihood insurance. For example an individual could buy a policy against an erosion of income of people in his occupation, against erosion of income of people with his characteristics (in terms of job history or education.)

It is an intersting book and the author puts forward a lot of "outside" the box ideas regarding dealing with the risks that we face and how to deal with them without government intervention, droves of people living in poverty and at the same time not discouraging people from taking the kind of risk that could lead to great success stories.

[Texas_Dawg]

It's hard enough in the best of times, and baby, these ain't the best of times.

When were times better?

[warchild9]

If nothing else, it motivated my father-in-law to become wealthy after his arrival here in the U.S. He started with 26 cents, two kids and a pregnant wife, and no English. He's an awesome, intimidating--but unbelievably honest--man.

[Tokhtamish]

Why have you never anything of value to add to this subject aside from Ayn Rand libertarian arrogance ?

However clever you may think you are, if the GOP takes your position get ready for New Deal II.

[GraniteStateConservative]

They invested so they can become their own CEO's!

Why should they expect a government under a Constitution that sets forth the requirement that our government work toward a "more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" to actually do any of that out-of-date nonsense.

[/free traitors]

[fortaydoos]

As a self-proclaimed supporter of capitalism and freemarkets, you think people "give" 300 million bucks away with nothing expected in return?

[warchild9]

In Cuba, people stand in long lines with plastic buckets for their monthly beer ration. Only about half the line gets any, and the rest go home pasively. Castro is smart, in that he lets the malcontents leave every now and then, and what's left is willing to stand in line.
There's a lesson there.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Where do we gain that 20% and how long do you expect it to stay "on-shore"?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

The poster said the article was jusified by what he heard in a restaurant. I still don't see in the article this thread is based on where the 1,300 jobs are being replaced with foreigners.

[KevinDavis]

W can't tell business who to hire and who they can't hire.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Thank the Open Source folks for driving down the costs.

[american spirit]

For years I've debated all those smug, arrogant white collar free traders who thought they were immune. Little did they realize that all those nasty factory jobs supported a whole host of jobs like engineers, accountants, mgt., etc. plus numerous service companies in the surrounding community. I do feel sorry for their plight......but not that sorry.

[warchild9]

W can stop using our tax money to subsidize his suit buddy's risk in doing so. He won't, to the tune of three hundred million dollars and growing.

[Tokhtamish]

There is no reason to believe that we can retain the "more interesting stuff".

The whirlwind technological change of the 90's, when everything changed every four years has stopped. I don't see people shifting to .NET. They are staying with Visual Stuudio 6.0. So it has become a commodity.

[Steel and Fire and Stone]

It's dry, academic stuff to be sure. But when jobs are being lost on such an extraordinary scale, scarcely reported, is there a politician bold enough even to raise the issue?

Answer: No. Politicians avoid confrontation. The only reason that this transfer of wealth (IP and jobs) is possible is that U.S. politicians aid and abet it via public policy. It doesn't take a trade war to protect intellectual property. It doesn't require tariffs to protect American labor.

It just requires courage, selflessness (i.e. resisting lobbyists), and a belief and dedication U.S. Constitutional law. In other words, you have to believe in America, and believe in supporting Americans (i.e. the individuals, not unions or organizations), and most U.S. politicians (i.e. all Democrats, and many Republican RINOs) simply don't. They see the loss of IP and jobs as something "rich and spoiled" Americans somehow deserve. In their popular view, Americans have too much, and these "developing" nations deserve something too. "Spread the wealth" (a.k.a. redistributist policies), even if that means your job, and the economic future of your kids. The answer: "Sorry bud. Wrong time, wrong place. Learn Chinese and Arabic, and get with the new International order of things ..."

And by all means, forget all those old, antequated notions of republican democracy, Freedom, and "the American way".

Excuse me. Break over. I have to get back to training my Indian replacement (...replacement(s); it takes more than one).

SFS

[warchild9]

W can stop using our tax money to subsidize his suit buddies' risk in doing so. He won't, to the tune of three hundred million dollars and growing.