To live in a country that isn't run by Carl Rove. That way, we might be able to avoid BIG GOVERNMENT, with BIG BUDGET DEFICITS, allowing illegal immigrants "AMNESTY" into our Country so that they can use our welfare and medical resources and then send $13 BILLION PER YEAR BACK TO MEXICO. Bush is like LBJ. Guns and Butter, but with Tax Cuts!
Outstanding comments! Outstanding! what more can I say. you see, the reason that I participate and use these boards as commic relief from the stresses and monotonly (is that how you spell it?) of the trading arena is that it sharpens my perspectives on many related finance issues. you have just done that for me, and I appreciate it, as well as you have also added to the discussion threads that enlighten others who read these.... oh, on that note regarding choosing to learn new programming languages, the thing that everyone who has not become a PhD in Computer Science (yes, most programmers, if they matriculated their additional training, class time and post grad work would have PhD's) is that there really is no more that they can do or take learning to. At some point the demand for those highly specialized trades has to be there, whether they constitute themselves into companies of consultants and offer those services as their work product or they remain employees or remain independant contractors. If there is no incentive to provide demand, then the other side of the table has basically left the room, no matter how much those remaining dress themselves up. The medical profession is experiencing this with the wholesale takeover of pricing by the HMO's and Managed Care companies. I attended an advanced programming/trading class on Advanced Get and met more doctors than within those 20 students, each of us paying upwards of $3,000 to attend, than I would have ever expected to see at a physicians retreat. So, its happening to more than just the technical fields. Very good point regarding the unionization and socialization polarization within the US. Seems no one really knows which way to go.
Outstanding comments.... that is probably why he excelled in that highly charged exclusionary Goldman Sachs environment to become Chairman... that was no easy assent or achievement.. did you know that this man mother Hubbards even the smallest details and operational details of the things he oversees?
yet again, another outstanding comment.... simply outstanding frankly, as one of Uncle Sam's nephews, I'm glad that I have the trading markets to earn a living from, as I've left off from the technical world, and not by choice. when I started, part of every interview had the segment of what the job will do for me and my career, and what I would be learning or be taught. you're absolutely right in that the shift of education, preparation, career risk and elemental surprise has been shifted from the company to the individual. Interviews during the boiling hot tech rallies used to go along these lines: 1) company calls headhunter (basically used to prescreen so that EOCC could be violated from the start) and tells them they want: 1a) someone that has 5yrs experience in a technology that was just released 2 months ago -- which usually meant they wanted the designers from the software companies 1b) someone that has huge bumbers up front to brighten the office or someone that has long hair to pretty up the front desk or someone that can fit in.... 1c) someone that speaks english -- meaning no Russian accent, Indian accent or otherwise 2) someone that wrote the textbook on the new technology 3) and keep the applicants within the profile of our company no where in there were the notions that we'll take what our universities produce, or offer to train those who have the precursor skills. inadvertantly these practices drove up the costs of staffing to prohibative levels. Hey, its all a mess, perhaps its no wonder its all being packaged and shipped offshore. Hey, lets all put together a care package and send them our next new, hot export namely unemployment
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=26753 http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/episode_guide/11.html West Wing episode..... there was an episode on West Wing (http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/index.html) where President Jeb Bartlett went against White House Chief of Staff Leo McGary and called in Sir Lord Font LeRoy from the British Royal Family to broker a peace deal between the Pakistanies and Indians. He bought them off with the terms of exporting American high tech jobs to their shores in exchange for them putting in place internationally accepted nucler mitilary controls on their armed forces. In the real world, Pakistan exploded their first and second nuclear (whether atomic, thermo-nuclear or otherwise) devices on their shores to announce to the world community their entrance into the arms race. India had done so previously, and had posed a greater than normal threat to the Pakistani(s), especially from their perspective. This retributive display set off alarms all across the globe in seats of power among the established nuclear powers. Almost as suddenly as these events came up they virtually disappeared from the front, middle and rear pages of the world press. Seems like Bollywood/Hollywood imitates life more than we feel comfortable in admitting. Seems like that fictitious West Wing episode has either a parallel or is reporting loosely, what actually happened in reality... The results are evident, in that more and more technology jobs are leaving the US shores. and to think identity theft poses a threat, imagine losing all those corporate business process engineering (BPE & BPR) corporate secrets...by shipping offshore all those technology jobs, contracts and programming operations.... the implications are far reaching....
There are different ways to run a company - even a large company. You can develop a genuine corporate culture that respects, values, and develops employees, or you can treat them like cannon foder and keep them in a constant state of fear. After having consulted to the upper tier of management in Fortune 100 companies for the last 15 years I can draw upon my experience: The companies that I have worked with that pursued developing a corporate culture based upon fear have largely failed over time: The majority of these organizations that worked to commoditise their employees and treat them as wholly replaceable have languished, been aquired, or in some cases they have been liquidated.
wow, what a discussion thread. seems like you and Limitdown both know what you're talking about, and were both in senior management positions for consulting firms... hey, its really great to know that those who screw today, get screwed tomorrow.... never really realized that those firms would be/are acquired because they've made a caustic environment for their employees hey, somebody compliment these guys for this thread... highly informative.. ok, back to all the action I'm getting in my commercial... did you see it lately?
caltrader represents the people i'm talking about - those that not only wish, but expect and demand that someone else train them and provide them a roof over their head. people think because they are born, they are entitled to all the great things this world has to offer without the work that comes along with it. it's part of the deterioration of our culture that people no longer take responsibility for themselves, their circumstances, and their lives. it's the government's responsibility (hence mine, becuase it's my money) to make sure you are educated and trained. it's not my responsibility, your company's responsibility, it's YOUR responsiblity. what gives someone the right to steal my money and give it to someone else. how is that ethical. it's not. and it's wrong. if you make yourself indispensible to the company, then you will be treated as such. if there is no fair exchange of your work for the wage that they are providing you, then you will be let go, and rightfully so. on the other hand, if you are not being treated fairly with the right wages, another competitor of that firm will hire you away as that firm would be earning excess profits, and hence would attract competitors. this is the beauty of a free market. inefficiencies work themselves out, lazy workers are punished, while productive members are rewarded.
where are you now limitdown? did you hear greenspan's speech today? 'the job market will pick up, just as it always has in the past. it's only a matter of time' --- ALAN GREENSPAN 1/13/03 saying that increased efficiencies and productivity are currently meeting demand, but this CANNOT go on forever. it's only a matter of time. interesting, where did i hear this before. oh, that's right. i said it.
Dafuggin man represents exactly what is wrong with the average US citizen. Having fired literally thousands of workers as the decision maker on corporate re-engineering projects, I can tell you that when the decisions were made by senior management there was no worker who was considered "indispensible". We did run into some IT people who attempted to blackmail the company by attempting to not deseminate knowledge to other workers but we were able to negate their atttempts and they were released. After they left we improved the areas they attempted to hold hostage and the comapanies became more profitable. Its a fallacy that you hold an "indispensible" position in any company, at any rank. I'm sure all the "indispensible" people looking for work right now due to structural changes in their industry would disagree with you description.