[TriLUG] OT: PT One tech issue from tonight's debate

Chris Merrill chris at webperformance.com
Fri Oct 19 15:03:59 EDT 2012


On 10/19/2012 2:44 PM, Scott Chilcote wrote:
> That's what I did, and this is the result that I concluded: 
> 
>     The business interests who control much of our nation's power are
>     pushing towards a borderless, international marketplace for
>     knowledge workers.  This allows them to continuously reduce costs,
>     increase profit, and deliver growth to their stockholders.  Many of
>     us have seen this going on for several years.  Ask anyone here who
>     has worked for, or with IBM or several dozen other employers doing
>     the same thing. 

And why shouldn't they do that? That is their job, after all (delivering value to their
stockholders).  And it would be naive to assume that we don't benefit from this every single day.
The relentless pursuit of higher profitability includes a drive to improved efficiency and
cost-reduction. That requires technology -- and our industry is one of the biggest benefactors of
this drive. It also means that the products and services we consume get better and cheaper every day.

(the rest of this is in response to the discussion at large, not Scott)

Besides, if someone in another country is willing and able to do the same job as me, why should they
be denied that opportunity?  Shouldn't I have that choice as both a consumer and an employer? In my
particular job, I am competing against those people every day.

If they come here to work...then they're paying taxes and spending money in our communities. If US
companies do not make use of these resources then somebody else will - likely a foreign company who
will hire them locally...where they won't be paying US taxes OR spending money in our communities.

Whether you like it or not, we ARE competing with IT workers all over the world. Deal with it. If
you can't compete...well...find another career where you can. Sorry if that sounds harsh. Life can
be harsh. Putting up artificial borders is akin to burying our heads in the sand...the world will
continue on and we'll be left behind.


Chris

As an aside, I feel that bringing foreign workers here or outsourcing work to them is a socially
beneficial thing to do...maybe even a moral obligation. These opportunities to better their life by
working for US companies (here or abroad) does more to improve the world-at-large than all of the
efforts of our govt combined (political, charitable and military).


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------ -
Chris Merrill                           |  Web Performance, Inc.
chris at webperformance.com                |  http://webperformance.com
919-433-1762                            |  919-845-7601

Web Performance: Website Load Testing Software & Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------ -



More information about the TriLUG mailing list