[CarrotAndStick]

"China...the world's largest market for machine tools."

Scary thinking about what the future holds, with these two giants - China and India.

[jpsb]

yes the future looks very dim, with all labor becoming a commodity, even engineering and R&D we will all be reduced to subsistance level living if we are lucky.

Comming soon the super rich and the super poor.

[Sam the Sham]

Kerry started out with this issue and backed away from it once the big checks started coming in.

That is why he will lose. Without economic populism what does the Democratic Party have ? Gay marriage and Michael Moore ?

[thulldud]

The report also cited US executives who felt quality of American workers were deteriorating, compared to the high quality of workers in countries like India and China, the Washington Post reported.

In the days of "rugged individualism", this was not a problem. Now we have a culture that denies individual responsibility, particularly in the odious mass-production public education [sic] system. When the natural feedback loop between incompetence and failure is broken, both are perpetuated.

[A CA Guy]

If you read between the lines of this article it says...

INDIA AND CHINA STILL HAVE SLAVE LABOR AND NO LAWYERS. SEND ALL YOUR WORK THERE NOW AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SLAVERY OR YOUR COMPANY'S PROFIT MARGIN WILL BE TOO SLIM TO COMPETE.

I think that wraps it up.

[raybbr]

"More than 40 per cent of the companies we talked with expressed significant concerns about the erosion of skills in the work force (in the US). They cited machine operators who are unable to handle specialized equipment properly or to make the transition to new work materials. In contrast, LCCs provide large pools of skilled workers who are eager to apply their 'craftsman' talents."

This is absurd. The same companies that are complaining about skills are the same ones that won't spend any money on training and new technology. Oh man, I can't believe they are saying that workers who are used to working in fields with water buffalo are better equipped to handle new technologies whereas the American worker, who has been exposed to technology his whole life. This is so blatantly prejudiced I am ready to puke.

[joesbucks]

The company I work for is a wholly owned of a large multinational corp. They are lobbying strongly that we look to china for machined parts that are needed. Advantages? All new equipment, not junk. Low hourly rates (about .40-.50 cents per hour. Over 10,000 machinists working in one location. BTW, the machinery is all state supplied meaning the companies don't have to worry about getting a return on their investment. Scary.