You make an extremely intelligent point which I would like to add to - I believe the primary reason for that tech "boost" in the '60s and '70s, which has carried us into the 21st century, was the direct result of the largest government-sponsored R & D program in history, namely, N.A.S.A. and the space program.
An almost limitless number of development in digital electronics, computer science, microelectronics, biomech engineering, materials science, polymer chemistry, data and telecommunications (LASER and fuel cell tech, etc.) and satellite com, etc., ad infinitum, have derived from there.
As an individual who welcomed the competition of the Japanese - and please understand the difference between healthy competition between the Japanese corporations and the deconstructing of our culture, country and economy by the offshoring of American jobs (a process which began several years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy - I shall make no comment on that coincidence here).
And again - please read the article prior to commenting - virtually the top R & D (that's research and development, in case you haven't figured it out yet) jobs have been shipped there from the top American, Japanese and Euro corporations. The Chinese have had one of the top missile and space programs on the planet - far outstripping the Japanese, and not that far behind - and some might suggest equal to - the Russians and their vacuum-tube space tech.
This is a serious situation that will end this country and any chance at any form of democracy.
A "cool model" indeed! I suppose you think Nazism was a "cool model" and the KGM were truly righteous???
Allow me to explain the global economic picture to you: all the countries which the corporations offshore American jobs to are the very same countries which target the same market - namely the ole USA - for all their exports. Consumer spending continues to drop as the tax base is constantly being shrunk - both nationally and locally - by the ever-increasing offshoring of American jobs. Pretty soon the dwindling market those foreign countries depend upon ceases to exist - yet at the same time their working citizens don't earn enough to buy the goods they are producing there. END OF STORY.
Kindly explain to this person - and the rest of the/.ers - what does the offshoring of as many American (and European and Japanese) jobs have to do with the free market???? What does the offshoring of American jobs have to do with trade???? And maybe you should take a break and read up on the classical French economist, Jean-Baptiste Say, so you might better understand the realm of macroeconomics.
Of course, dude! The Corporate Globalists prefer totalitarian and dictatorial governments - haven't you been reading any news the last 20 years????
Seriously, though, just reflect for a moment what would have happened, if early in the 20th century, Henry Ford had offshored all those automotive industry jobs overseas - have you figured it out yet??????
My final post: in a white paper published online by the fascist Chinese government several years ago - but ultimately taken off the 'net - they stated their intention of attacking the USA about 2012! Given all the American, Euro and Japanese technology giveaways to them - all in the name of offshoring to cheaper labor markets - I think this prediction is probably more accurate than 40 or 50 years - aside from that - a most wonderful post, thinking human!
I wish I still had a wonderful post about 1 and 1/2 years ago by a Chinese professor at an aviation university in Beijing. Basically, and most eloquently stated (in his words), the "globalization" of the world's economies has a destabalizing effect by destroying so many local economies (known as "restructuring") and forcing many into the already over-crowded cities for fewer and fewer jobs - thanks in part to that same globalization (i.e., easily-moved capital). Thus would the world's economies all be destablized while a few select individuals became richer.
Thank you for your elucidating the present situation - although I suspect there will be some posters who still don't get it (and proclaim this to be a "free trade" situation)!
The typical American loses his or her job and then needs medicine. Unfortunately, they can offshore his or her job - but have prohibited the "inshoring" of foreign - and much cheaper - medicines - thanks to the "free trade" of the American pharmaceutical industry (Note to the neocons and neoliberals: I'm being sarcastic here!). Obviously, there is no free trade - only the top-down movement of capital - and one-way at that!
Wonderfully articulated and you obviously know your history. It is interesting to understand that something quite similar to today took place in the early 1900s - but was quashed by Teddy Roosevelt - who lost his re-election bid!
Again, something similar started in the early '60s - but John F. Kennedy quashed it early on - unfortunately his term ended all too early with his assassination!
No - this has been a slow process starting about 35 years ago - then has now greatly been speeded up - thanks in part to the IT industry - and now covers almost all category of jobs (except domestic services, i.e., cooks, wait staff, grave diggers, police (can't we import cheaper and far more compentent Sikh police from India under the H-1B program???), janitors, etc., which pretty much covers "new" - and temporary - job creation in the USA lately. It's the wide-spread types of jobs and the ever-increasing quantity of jobs that will do us all in.....
You evidently don't grasp capitalistic economics. Globalization, as it is now practised, is nothing more than Stalinism. "Free trade" - how in creation does offshoring of American jobs have anything to do with free trade. What trade is involved??? It's called greed - if offshoring of jobs is so great, why don't corporations offshore the CEO and CFO jobs??????? Duhhhh!
That is the silliest and most illogical statment of all! Just research what happened to Stanley Tools - a classic tale of offshoring of a company which was swallowed by, and now is, a Chinese company - and Volvo (not to mention Exxon and Shell's experience in offshoring to China).
Let me put it in perspective: Corporations' balance sheets look great for the first quarter, but the actual cost of offshoring the typical American job is between 2.5 to 3.5 times or higher than if they kept it onshore (due to logistical costs and REAL productivity); the corporations' foreign operations and facilities are nationlized (China being the perfect case in point), consumer spending drops in the USA due to cascading unemployment (read Stephen Roach of Wall Street's Morgan Stanley: anemic job growth now and in the foreseeable future! at least in America!), and the industries and state corporations in foreign countries which target the US as their primary markets start doing badly as well as the US corporations due to that drop in consumer spending in the USA - making silly statements without understanding the math and economics of it is truly specious thinking!
Obviously, some concepts are simply too complex for some. If the jobs of a corporation are offshored (such as Nike), then the principal beneficiaries (as salary, benefits and perks have clearly demonstrated) are the senior management - and to a far lesser extent - the stockholders! The ONLY reason the US still has a slightly higher standard of living is because of MASSIVE national debt (it's called the deficit) and MASSIVE personal debt! This, unfortunately, cannot be paid back under the present and future restructuring of the American (a k a "Globalized" or financialized) economy!
Well said! There have already been a number of studies that were stopped or dropped for politically expedient reasons. Remember that GAO study - nobody does because they quietly dropped it....
IF THEY ACTUALLY PAID ANY OF THOSE TAXES WHATSOEVER! A study done back in the '90s by the economics department of the University of Maryland showed that the vast majority (actually ALL) of American corporations with foreign offices and subsidiaries pay No taxes by utilizing the tax dodge of billing and rebilling various products moved between their foreign operations. This study suggested corporations avoided pay at least $200 billion or more in taxes!
I fear the gains in "productivity" aren't really understood. Two primary measures of productivity: number of American workers and the cost of labor. With offshoring you go from 10 American workers to 6 - thus lower number and greater productivity plus lower cost of labor. Too bad they don't count those 10 Indians or 20 Chinese in the equation......
Perhaps you should try to keep current on the news. Air support in Afghanistan over a long period of time was being provided by the French Air Force (per NATO pledge) as they had the most sophisticated aircraft that could communicate with the US military units. Also, to repeat, France hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to offshore an extreme number of IT jobs - sounds like they have some national character after all. I suggest you study the history of engineering to understand what the French have contributed to the world (not to mention their involvement in the American Revolution). Viva la truth!
Very aptly stated - and with the natural disasters which actually occur far greater in the USA than any other country (please note the two back-to-back hurricanes [Charley and Frances]) really drives up our GDP with the clean up aftermath.
The unemployment stats for countries is not relative - the USA greatly underreports our unemployment rate - France realistically reports their true unemployment rate - PLUS they are not offshoring their IT jobs!
The CIA site reports stats as they are reported - period. Also, the efficacy of the CIA - after all the information that came out concerning tips and warnings to that agency about 9/11 - that they chose to ignore - is highly questionable. Please don't depend on government workers for anything today. Let's stick to the facts, jack!
Let me think a moment, oh, about the amount of fuel and energy expenditure to rocket all that waste to the sun. Mmmm.....??? The future of China just may yet turn out to be Chernobyl Unlimited!
They have been communicating with us via crop circles - ever see one of those satellite pix where a crop circle of extremely complex nature appeared partially each night for several nights until it was complete???? Obviously a far more sophisticated glyph than some extraneous radio noise.
You are exactly right! Take the typical North American contract staff which used to exist at the typical Microsoft retail tech support. They came up with many of the solutions, fixes and hacks which completely stumped the Ivey League Microsoft (employee) senior engineering staff! Indian and foreign screen readers ain't going to substitute for real Yankee ingenuity here - and we aren't talking race - we're talking real culture and cultural differences. Globalize poverty all they want to - but this country will be in a state of "progressive" regression for years to come......
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An almost limitless number of development in digital electronics, computer science, microelectronics, biomech engineering, materials science, polymer chemistry, data and telecommunications (LASER and fuel cell tech, etc.) and satellite com, etc., ad infinitum, have derived from there.
And again - please read the article prior to commenting - virtually the top R & D (that's research and development, in case you haven't figured it out yet) jobs have been shipped there from the top American, Japanese and Euro corporations. The Chinese have had one of the top missile and space programs on the planet - far outstripping the Japanese, and not that far behind - and some might suggest equal to - the Russians and their vacuum-tube space tech.
This is a serious situation that will end this country and any chance at any form of democracy.
Hopefully, sometime between 2012 and 2023, they will be merciful slave masters.
Allow me to explain the global economic picture to you: all the countries which the corporations offshore American jobs to are the very same countries which target the same market - namely the ole USA - for all their exports. Consumer spending continues to drop as the tax base is constantly being shrunk - both nationally and locally - by the ever-increasing offshoring of American jobs. Pretty soon the dwindling market those foreign countries depend upon ceases to exist - yet at the same time their working citizens don't earn enough to buy the goods they are producing there. END OF STORY.
Kindly explain to this person - and the rest of the /.ers - what does the offshoring of as many American (and European and Japanese) jobs have to do with the free market???? What does the offshoring of American jobs have to do with trade???? And maybe you should take a break and read up on the classical French economist, Jean-Baptiste Say, so you might better understand the realm of macroeconomics.
Seriously, though, just reflect for a moment what would have happened, if early in the 20th century, Henry Ford had offshored all those automotive industry jobs overseas - have you figured it out yet??????
Or, as R. Buckminster Fuller said: "The only true education is self-education."
My final post: in a white paper published online by the fascist Chinese government several years ago - but ultimately taken off the 'net - they stated their intention of attacking the USA about 2012! Given all the American, Euro and Japanese technology giveaways to them - all in the name of offshoring to cheaper labor markets - I think this prediction is probably more accurate than 40 or 50 years - aside from that - a most wonderful post, thinking human!
I wish I still had a wonderful post about 1 and 1/2 years ago by a Chinese professor at an aviation university in Beijing. Basically, and most eloquently stated (in his words), the "globalization" of the world's economies has a destabalizing effect by destroying so many local economies (known as "restructuring") and forcing many into the already over-crowded cities for fewer and fewer jobs - thanks in part to that same globalization (i.e., easily-moved capital). Thus would the world's economies all be destablized while a few select individuals became richer.
The typical American loses his or her job and then needs medicine. Unfortunately, they can offshore his or her job - but have prohibited the "inshoring" of foreign - and much cheaper - medicines - thanks to the "free trade" of the American pharmaceutical industry (Note to the neocons and neoliberals: I'm being sarcastic here!). Obviously, there is no free trade - only the top-down movement of capital - and one-way at that!
Again, something similar started in the early '60s - but John F. Kennedy quashed it early on - unfortunately his term ended all too early with his assassination!
No - this has been a slow process starting about 35 years ago - then has now greatly been speeded up - thanks in part to the IT industry - and now covers almost all category of jobs (except domestic services, i.e., cooks, wait staff, grave diggers, police (can't we import cheaper and far more compentent Sikh police from India under the H-1B program???), janitors, etc., which pretty much covers "new" - and temporary - job creation in the USA lately. It's the wide-spread types of jobs and the ever-increasing quantity of jobs that will do us all in.....
You evidently don't grasp capitalistic economics. Globalization, as it is now practised, is nothing more than Stalinism. "Free trade" - how in creation does offshoring of American jobs have anything to do with free trade. What trade is involved??? It's called greed - if offshoring of jobs is so great, why don't corporations offshore the CEO and CFO jobs??????? Duhhhh!
Let me put it in perspective: Corporations' balance sheets look great for the first quarter, but the actual cost of offshoring the typical American job is between 2.5 to 3.5 times or higher than if they kept it onshore (due to logistical costs and REAL productivity); the corporations' foreign operations and facilities are nationlized (China being the perfect case in point), consumer spending drops in the USA due to cascading unemployment (read Stephen Roach of Wall Street's Morgan Stanley: anemic job growth now and in the foreseeable future! at least in America!), and the industries and state corporations in foreign countries which target the US as their primary markets start doing badly as well as the US corporations due to that drop in consumer spending in the USA - making silly statements without understanding the math and economics of it is truly specious thinking!
This is the basic economic rule!
Well said! There have already been a number of studies that were stopped or dropped for politically expedient reasons. Remember that GAO study - nobody does because they quietly dropped it....
IF THEY ACTUALLY PAID ANY OF THOSE TAXES WHATSOEVER! A study done back in the '90s by the economics department of the University of Maryland showed that the vast majority (actually ALL) of American corporations with foreign offices and subsidiaries pay No taxes by utilizing the tax dodge of billing and rebilling various products moved between their foreign operations. This study suggested corporations avoided pay at least $200 billion or more in taxes!
I fear the gains in "productivity" aren't really understood. Two primary measures of productivity: number of American workers and the cost of labor. With offshoring you go from 10 American workers to 6 - thus lower number and greater productivity plus lower cost of labor. Too bad they don't count those 10 Indians or 20 Chinese in the equation......
Perhaps you should try to keep current on the news. Air support in Afghanistan over a long period of time was being provided by the French Air Force (per NATO pledge) as they had the most sophisticated aircraft that could communicate with the US military units. Also, to repeat, France hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to offshore an extreme number of IT jobs - sounds like they have some national character after all. I suggest you study the history of engineering to understand what the French have contributed to the world (not to mention their involvement in the American Revolution). Viva la truth!
Very aptly stated - and with the natural disasters which actually occur far greater in the USA than any other country (please note the two back-to-back hurricanes [Charley and Frances]) really drives up our GDP with the clean up aftermath.
The unemployment stats for countries is not relative - the USA greatly underreports our unemployment rate - France realistically reports their true unemployment rate - PLUS they are not offshoring their IT jobs! The CIA site reports stats as they are reported - period. Also, the efficacy of the CIA - after all the information that came out concerning tips and warnings to that agency about 9/11 - that they chose to ignore - is highly questionable. Please don't depend on government workers for anything today. Let's stick to the facts, jack!
Let me think a moment, oh, about the amount of fuel and energy expenditure to rocket all that waste to the sun. Mmmm.....??? The future of China just may yet turn out to be Chernobyl Unlimited!
I believe Douglas Adams already explained all this stuff in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - 'nuff said!
They have been communicating with us via crop circles - ever see one of those satellite pix where a crop circle of extremely complex nature appeared partially each night for several nights until it was complete???? Obviously a far more sophisticated glyph than some extraneous radio noise.
You are exactly right! Take the typical North American contract staff which used to exist at the typical Microsoft retail tech support. They came up with many of the solutions, fixes and hacks which completely stumped the Ivey League Microsoft (employee) senior engineering staff! Indian and foreign screen readers ain't going to substitute for real Yankee ingenuity here - and we aren't talking race - we're talking real culture and cultural differences. Globalize poverty all they want to - but this country will be in a state of "progressive" regression for years to come......