Nannies, barbers & surgeons will be the only jobs left in US

[OhioChick]

Thursday, April 12, 2007 01:50 IST

WASHINGTON, DC: When Princeton University economist Alan S Blinder told the Wall Street Journal this week about 30-40 million US jobs being offshored, he was actually emphasising what he has been saying for a few years now — that millions of American jobs will be outsourced to countries like India and China not just because of low wages or skill levels, but because it is easier to get work “delivered electronically with very little diminution of quality.”

Blinder’s reputation and his rigour at research have ensured that his figures are accepted by many, especially those in politics. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, for instance, speaks with Blinder to get his views on economic policy. Hillary Clinton is also a regular.

Unlike most of America which feels that outsourcing to India and China is bad for the US economy, Blinder feels that eventually, all three countries would benefit. So, has the once-free-trade advocate turned into a protectionist? “My view is that, in the economic realm, this (free trade) is going to be the biggest policy issue of the next generation,”

But the Wall Street Journal says: “Blinder says there’s an urgent need to retool America’s education system so it trains young people for jobs likely to remain in the US. A college diploma, he warns, may lose its exalted ‘silver bullet’ status.”

It isn’t how many years one spends in school that will matter, he says, it’s choosing to learn the skills for jobs that cannot easily be delivered electronically from afar.... Mostly he wants to shock politicians, policy makers and other economists into realising how big a change is coming and what new sectors it will reach, the WSJ says. “This is something factory workers have understood for a generation. It’s now coming down on the heads of highly educated, politically vocal people, and they’re not going to take it,” Blinder added.


http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1090261

[aquart]

1. Nope. For surgeons you go to India or Thailand.

[OhioChick]

2. Good Point. n/t

[SheilaT]

3. Not all of that work is

"delivered electronically with very little diminution of quality". Who hasn't had the experience of talking fruitlessly to some "help desk" person who's actually in India or Australia and they haven't a clue how to help out? The sad truth is that the quality of the work outsourced is often far below what it used to be when performed here in the U.S.

And actually, there still will be a fair number of low-wage, no-prestige jobs, such as working the counter at McDonald's, or driving a garbage truck, or working for airport security. However, there will continue to be a strong downward pressure on wages for those kinds of jobs, and there won't really be enough of them to go around.

[Speck Tater]

4. It's not really quite THAT grim.

After all, you could also pursue a high-paying career in lawn care or shoe shining.

[raccoon]

11. And there's always pet grooming. nt

[OhioChick]

14. Umm..

Not if the pet food industry (and FDA) doesn't get it's shit together.

[raccoon]

16. I just had a wonderful idea! What about pet undertakers? :silly: nt

[melody]

5. As jobs go elsewhere, small businesses will open, they will become medium sized businesses

And that will help off-set the loss of jobs. Only multi-national corporations outsource to that extent.
Businesses may well become more people-oriented and responsive to the consumer. It may well be a good thing
for the US.

We can then get rid of the business titans that have destroyed our country.

[Demeter]

17. I Tried That-- and Bush Killed the Economy

My customers would say--you're great, but I have to move to get a job.....

[melody]

20. Your customers would have to find a way to survive

That involves starting their own business. And a business needs to be run so that it can survive
in any business circumstances ... I started my own business, Bush killed the economy, I went from
making 300K a year to 30K a year, but I still held on.

We'll have to survive, so we will.

[w4rma]

6. So Obama and Hillary support this guy's views that we should let all the good jobs go overseas.

…
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, for instance, speaks with Blinder to get his views on economic policy. Hillary Clinton is also a regular.
…
But the Wall Street Journal says: “Blinder says there’s an urgent need to retool America’s education system so it trains young people for jobs likely to remain in the US. A college diploma, he warns, may lose its exalted ‘silver bullet’ status.”
…

[Coyote_Bandit]

7. The value of education as

it relates to employment and earnings has always been overrated. True, it can be an asset - but that never has been a given. And it can be a liability. Skills on the other hand are relevant. As are networks. A network and skills trumps education and credentials.

If this country were ever again to be involved in a real war - say something like World War II - we would quickly find that we do not have the ability to manufacture our own skivvies. Never mind bullets or bombs or airplanes or tanks. Or food. The infrastructure is gone. We are dependent upon foreign suppliers and manufacturers. We have already been defeated. And that defeat is a product of our own greed. Too bad we haven't figured it out yet. In the meantime we are marching steadily into another dark age - and the feudal economy that accompanies it. The ultimate end of globalization is a single uniform standard of living. That means that wealthier countries will become poorer and poorer countries will prosper. It also suggests that there will be even less class mobility.

Believe it or not I am an optimist. That's why I am learning new skills to start a new business and career focused on tangible products. As soon as I becme profitable I intend to celebrate by burning my college diplomas - all four of them. My education has little market value - as my collection of rejection letters would seem to verify.

[raccoon]

10. STRONGLY AGREE with your first paragraph.

My degrees haven't been cost-effective.

When I was in high school (1960's) we were sold the lie that if you went to college, people would be beating your door down to offer you fantastic jobs. No, nobody ever used those actual words, but it was the message from the culture at large, older people, school personnel, etc.

It was a shock to get out of college with a degree and learn that my degree wasn't worth anything.

Good luck to you in your new endeavors!

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. Thanks for the warm thoughts and well wishes

Education is the largest ongoing scam in the United States. The schools are in it for the money. Students and families buy into it because it offers hope - even though it may be a false hope. Government and industry call for greater workforce education because it reduces the workforce while students are enrolled and because it shifts the burden of training away from private industry. Every kid should learn a skill.

[ixion]

8. why is offshoring okay, but telecommuting is not?

it is easier to get work “delivered electronically with very little diminution of quality.”


That sounds like a great argument for moving to a telecommuting infrastructure. But no, no. They'd rather send the jobs overseas. :crazy:

[Demeter]

18. I'm Sure You Could Telecommute --For $5/Day n/t

[Demeter]

9. Ironic Name There---Blinder

There are none so blind as those that will not see!

[raccoon]

12. Well, one thing he said I agree with,

"A college diploma, he warns, may lose its exalted ‘silver bullet’ status.”

IME, it lost it a long time ago.

[raccoon]

13. What are they going to do--storm the WH with pitchforks?

"It’s now coming down on the heads of highly educated, politically vocal people, and they’re not going to take it,"

Newsflash to Blinder: It's been coming down on the heads of highly educated people for a long time already.

[Demeter]

19. Yeah, But That Was Engineers and Hard Science Folk

paperpushers and bean counters are still safe.