A friend writes to chastise me for my remarks on the whole outsourcing problem, but he doesn't acknowledge the fact that our economy is becoming more and more dynamic. Nobody's getting gold watches anymore for putting in 35 years with the tool and die shop downtown, you know. Our generation (i.e., 30-somethings) are going to go through more and different kinds of jobs than our grandfathers did. That may suck, but it also presents us with the promise of better pay if we make the effort to become more marketable. Or, if we move out to where the jobs are.
The guy with the master's who lost his job to an IT worker in India is going to go through a crisis for a while, but he is free to ply his skills elsewhere. For less pay? Maybe for now, but it isn't necessarily going to be that way forever. And he and we are going to ride that rollercoaster until the end because we live in a free-market system (by and large).
Now, consider the alternative: a system where jobs are guaranteed and prices are artifically controlled and payroll taxes are far larger. That's a socialist system and nobody wants it. Maybe they do, theoretically, but, in practice? Who wants to double his taxes just to prop up people who won't work? Who wants to go through school to become a highly-skilled professional just to see his earning power stunted by the all-powerful state?
The idea, Helios, is to have babies so that, when you and your wife are old, the kids can take care of you. There. That's a responsible solution.
Posted by Toby Petzold
at 11:25 PM CST
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Updated: Thursday, 26 February 2004 10:53 PM CST
Updated: Thursday, 26 February 2004 10:53 PM CST