more on IEEE's positon paper on offshoring

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 23:39:20 -0800
From: Larry Tesler <tesler () pobox com>
Subject: Re: [IP] IEEE's positon paper on offshoring
X-Sender: larry () nomodes com (Unverified)
To: dave () farber net

Dave,

I don't fault IEEE-USA for taking a position against offshoring. I'd be 
unhappy if someone offshored my job, too. And their position paper offers 
some constructive ideas. But am I the only one to see the irony in their 
having to raise this issue at all?

In the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, blue collar 
workers protested whenever their companies automated their jobs away by 
hiring--guess who--engineers.

Many blue collar workers suffered serious financial consequences from the 
loss of their jobs. But, as technology advanced, the economy grew. By the 
end of the twentieth century, overall unemployment reached very low levels 
and the country prospered. Engineers were regarded as heroes instead of job 
thieves.

Meanwhile, generations of American kids grew up watching TV or playing 
video games, the fruits of American innovation. At the same time, kids 
overseas studied math and science and got into good universities. Many U.S. 
universities and employers could not find enough qualified or even 
interested Americans to fill their ranks, so they accepted applicants from 
overseas. The influx of talent fueled further advances in technology.

Then many people became concerned that high-tech American jobs were going 
to immigrant workers. One can argue whether employers used H1-B visas 
mainly to save money or mainly to find qualified candidates. But there's no 
question that these jobs were domestic, and at pay levels at or not far 
below prevailing rates.

After the so-called Internet bubble burst, high-tech unemployment rose. 
This, in turn, led to decreases in the number of H1-B visas that could be 
issued. Problem solved? No. Now many people are concerned because some 
high-tech American jobs are no longer going to permanent and temporary 
residents. Some are going to overseas engineers who are working for a 
fraction of what companies gave H1-B workers who paid taxes and spent money 
here.

Some economists believe that the foreign workers taking American jobs will 
use their new-found incomes to buy imported products. If these economists 
are right, then perhaps some of our unemployed engineers, whose ranks 
swelled by 2% between 2002 and 2003, could invent innovative products for 
these newly monied foreign workers to buy. I know that this is easier said 
than done. But the competitiveness recommendations in the IEEE-USA position 
paper offer some approaches worthy of discussion.

Some economists also believe that the main reason manufacturing is moving 
overseas is not because of cheap labor, but because countries like China 
are investing in automation more than we are. Perhaps American engineers 
could do something to increase American factory automation, thereby 
creating jobs for their unemployed peers.

Of course, more automation would put more blue collars out of work.

Larry Tesler

--

WASHINGTON, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Offshoring contributes to high
unemployment levels among U.S. technologists, and poses a serious, long-term
challenge to the nation's technological and innovative leadership, its
economic vitality and its military and homeland security, according to a
position recently adopted by IEEE-USA.

"We must develop a coordinated national strategy to maintain U.S.
technological leadership and promote job growth in the United States,"
IEEE-USA President John Steadman said. "But it's going to be difficult to
remain technologically competitive, if we continue offshoring the jobs of
our innovators at rates currently projected."
...
The EE joblessness rate rose by 47.6 percent in
2003 to a record 6.2 percent, compared to 4.2 percent in 2002. The 2003
unemployment rate for computer scientists and systems analysts reached an
all-time high of 5.2 percent.
...



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