Rich, a smart guy like you can make the right moves to protect himself in a rapidly changing economy. But most people are average, or below average. They can’t adapt. Your entire software group cannot become design managers or team leaders.
Only a few can rise to the top to manage the masses. So my question then is: what should happen to the low-level coders and software testers if they are outsourced? Should they work retail, mow lawns? And whom will you manage if your employees are stationed in India? Will you have to learn Hindi? What if your customer is outsourced, and you have to make design decisions with your customer in Bangladesh?
I don’t see how this can end well for the US economy, when only the smart ones can keep their good jobs. If we did this in health care by providing access to healthcare to only the most healthy (diabetics and those born with genetic illnesses are denied insurance coverage because of pre-existing illness, doctors might say it’s not worth spending $200K on a preemie) it would be considered abhorrent. As a society, we feel every life is worth saving.
But then we don’t seem to care about saving anyone’s means of livelihood. Basically, what can 75% of people who are average or below average do to adapt?
My family is not affected by outsourcing, so this is not a personal issue. I’m just wondering how many American jobs will even exist in 20 years, and how our society will be affected if the majority of intellectual jobs are moved overseas, and we are left only with lower-wage service jobs in health care, retail, restaurant, travel, repair of stuff (car, clock, house), pet sitting, etc., basically anything where you work on/for a human or his stuff.
Did anyone read Fed Reserve Governor Kohn’s remarks today, where he said the Fed only manages the macroeconomic stability, not asset stability, and that people shouldn’t expect the Fed to protect their recent housing equity gains.
