Thread: How bad could the U.S. economy get?

Originally Posted by Chimensch

No job is safe, no matter how highly trained you are. There are a lot of intelligent, well-educated Indians who speak English and will work for half what you get. Italian architectural and engineering firms are already starting to outsource to India, the US is just a little behind the wave, but it's coming to your town, too, as sure as god made little green apples.

I understand that you are proud of your personal accomplishments but, seriously, you wouldn't want to live in a country where the majority of the people are not making a living wage. Whether you think they "deserve" it or not. And believe me, if you're talking about everyone whose job could be sent overseas or done by a machine, you're talking about alot of unhappy people and your environment will deteriorate quickly. Sometimes we need to be altruistic and think of others in order to protect ourselves.

and, as I said, it's my responsibility to stay ahead of that wave, and surf along in front of the crest until I retire. if I screw it up and don't constantly update my skillset, my job WILL be outsourced, and I'll deserve every bit of it.

if the majority of the people aren't making a living wage, it's their own fault for not working hard enough, both at what they do, and to stay competitive. I know a fair few people who DID lose their jobs to outsourcing, and you know what? none of them worked very hard. none of them worked 80 hour weeks (40 of them uncompensated), like I do. none of them ever went even one week without seeing their families because they were living at work, grinding hard to make a deadline, running on nothing but nicotine, caffeine, and desperation. none of them spent their free time learning and studying to grow their skillset and stay competitive, like I do. none of them are constantly evaluating their employers and changing jobs when they have to in order to stay on the bleeding edge, like I do. folks like me don't have to worry. not because we have technical jobs, but because we are always pushing the edge, and we are always staying ahead of "the wave" as you so aptly put it.

a good surfer never tries to ride the crest of the wave, if he slips at all, he'll slide down the back of the wave and get left behind. the best surfers, literally and other wise, ride in the trough, as close to the nadir as they can get. even when the wave curls tight and fast, you've got to scrunch up and get right in the tube to ride it. not just stand on your board picking your nose and complaining that the wave moves too fast and the gov't "ought to do something about it."

you say "altruism" but I head "coddling"