Outsourcing & Jobs Report

Discussion in 'Economics' started by limitdown, Mar 5, 2004.

  1. How much must the indices increase in one year for the US equites market to be considered bull?
     
    #41     Mar 5, 2004
  2. Depends on the definition of bull :D

    If you use the Dow theory definition, we are already bull.

    peace

    axeman



     
    #42     Mar 6, 2004
  3. I am curently working on a masters in engineering and about 80%-90% of my class mates are either Asian or middle eastern. The simple fact is that your average American youth wants all the nice toys now but is unwilling to put forth the effort to get a higher education and work for the toys. Therfore the foerigners are getting more qualified for the high paying technical jobs while Americans are pushing themselves into flipping burgers. Also, if the foreigners will work for less than Americans and have a better technical education and background who the hell are you going to hire? Face it Amercans are lazy in the education area when compared to foreigners. As a prime example, a local high school in my town is known as one of the top public high schools in America. In Texas, the top 10% of a high school class is guaranteed admission to any state funded school. I have heard numerous complaints from American parents about thier kids not being able to go the a good college because all of the Asians are in the top 10% of the class at the high school and it is not fair to their children. What the parents do not understand is that it is not the Asians causing the problem, it is the parents and kids who do not work hard enough to get into the top 10%. It is much easier to blame the Asians for their kids not graduating in the tpo 10% than to admit that the Asians just out worked you.

    Another example, I used to, for a very brief time, work as an acount exuctive for a FX trading firm. I was required to cold call people from a list of potential investors. The only requirement was that they make more than 200k a year. We were provided with a list of people who met this qualification to call. I would say that about half of the lists were comprised of Asians of middle easterners. That trend will only increase in the future for the reasons explained above.
     
    #43     Mar 6, 2004
  4. Well said!

    Very similar impressions on the higher education statistics.
     
    #44     Mar 6, 2004
  5. while the dollar remains so strong compared to the economic fundamentals, jobs will continue flowing overseas. A family of four in another country may be able to live very well on what I have to pay for just health insurance or property taxes after converting to the local currency. The problem is that the balance of payments will make it very difficult (even impossible) to let the dollar correct, because there is not enough wealth being generated to pay for all those imports that we are addicted to, especially oil. How many people do you know that would be able/willing to take a 50% (or maybe even more) salary haircut to keep their job? The really hard decisions are politically unpopular. Nothing will change until far more people are REALLY hurting, then it will be too late to fix anything.

    Sure makes for great trading though...
     
    #45     Mar 6, 2004
  6. ive no problem hiring the best US citizen here in the US wether they are asian, arab i dont care - its as long as they are a citizen. i just dont see a reason to bring in talent to the US.
     
    #46     Mar 6, 2004
  7. If greater talent exists elsewhere then why not use it or if equal talent but at lower cost exists elsewhere then why not use it?

    I agree that we are in quite a pickle in the US. I myself have been there, that is why I chose to go back to school for an advanced degree.

    The problem is only worse since compaines are hell bent on squezing every last drop of productivity out of each person regardless of the cost to the employees because the employers know that if someone finaly gets fed up and moves on there are dozens if not hundreds more waiting and wanting to take the newly departed person place.

    I think part of the problem is that many americans who have been here for a few or several generations have forgotten why their past relatives came here and the struggle they faced to earn what America now has. Many no longer see America as the land of opportunity but instead of the land that should freely give to them without having to earn their opportunity. Most foreigners think the opposite and see America as the land of opportunity and are willing to put forth the effort to make their opportunity.

    On another level other countries such as India and China that were once isolated from Americans and most of Europe are now opening up and they all want a piece of the pie and are more willing to do whatever is necessary to get a piece. I agree that some of what they do is "unfair" un relation to how the US handles its affairs. For example none of the developing countries have near the labor, environmental, and legal issues that drive the cost of doing business in the US through the roof. Another isues is currency valuation. Many asian countries "peg" thier currency to the dollar via intervantion. This creates an "unfair" trade advantage to the Asian countries. With the slide of the USD many countires including the EU are now facing some of the problems that the US is still hung over from for having a n extremely high valued dollar.

    Overall there is no easy answer to the problem. Politicians do not want to address the issues because when they do their approval ratings go down and they do not get reelected. Take for exampe the govenor of Texas. Texas had a severe budget shortfall and the govenor cut back on some state funded services and his approval rating is the worst that any govenor has had in 14 years. We are all responsible for the mees we hae created but maybe it is not too late to correct it if people are willing to make the hard decisions that will be required to correct our mistakes. If we can't face our problems and start correcting them, then they will wind up facing us and it will not be pretty.

    I do not mean to come across as a doomsayer. I am just seriously concerned about the future of my country since I am only 25 and have many more years to live in it. I would like to live in a prosperous well maintained counrty and be able to leave that behind to my children and grandchildren.
     
    #47     Mar 6, 2004
  8. many of the european countries will not allow foreigners a job unless theres no one in country that can fill it.

    example in the UK you must advertise for Uk residents and then provide the following info

    The total number of people who applied;
    The number short-listed for interview and;
    For each 'resident worker' reasons why they have not been employed.

    in the US you only have to do this if you are considered 'h1b' dependent :

    Additional requirements for H1B dependent employers. Employers are considered to be H1B dependent if they have less than 25 workers and more than 7 H1B workers; between 26 to 50 workers and more than 12 H1b workers; or more than 50 workers with 15% or more of them being H-1B foreign nationals. In this case, H1B dependent employer must fulfill 2 additional requirements.

    Displacement of U.S. workers: An H-1B dependent employer must attest that by hiring a H-1B worker, it is not displacing any U.S. worker for a similar position within 90 days before or after filing a H1B petition.

    Recruitment efforts: The H1B dependent employer must also attest to making good faith attempts to recruit U.S. workers and offering prevailing wages for this position.

    'If greater talent exists elsewhere then why not use it or if equal talent but at lower cost exists elsewhere then why not use it?'

    i put the welfare of the people above the welfare of business - there used to be a fine line but that line has been sold to the corporate world.
     
    #48     Mar 6, 2004
  9. You are still missing the point. By refusing to educate ourselves and work with the same effort, determination, and enthousiasm of some of the foreigners who come to the US because it is the land of opportunity we have placed ourselves at a competitive disadvantage. I do not feel sorry for those who have been left behind by refusing to further educate themselves or change and adapt to the changing job market. I have seen what happens to those who refuse to continue to develop theri skills and make themselves more marketable. It has happenned to some of my family members and it is not a pretty sight. The typical American feels that because this is America and they are Americans they are entitled to a high paying job with a high standard of living. Many people say that they cannot further educate themselves because of a house, a family, or whatever. Most do not see that they are behind the curve until it is at the point that the effort involved in catching up is percieved to be too great. To succeed in the new way things are done you have to be ahead of the curve. Face it, the way the world is heading you can not afford to get left behind or start to feel comfortable where you are at or your toast. Adapt or perish, it wasn't that different just a few years ago before the turn of the century.

    If you also notice, many of the European countries are practicaly socialist welfare states with the true cost of living much higher
    than in the US.

    I am just tired of people bitching about this and that and doing nothing to solve the problem and expecting the government to bail their asses out. Face it, all politicians, Republican or Democrat do not have your best interest in mind. Only you do and you alone are responsible for taking care of your business and keeping yourself copmpetitive.
     
    #49     Mar 6, 2004
  10. Mecro

    Mecro

    Who cares about caucasian vs asian vs immigrant qualifications in the US?

    The situation is to the point where Indian Americans with engineering degress & experience are losing their jobs to some half-qualified engineers in India.

    I have some Indian friends who are still in college. Of course, they major in engineering or CS. Their job prospects are pretty pathetic at the moment. They are actually quite made at their home country.
     
    #50     Mar 6, 2004