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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group

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To: stockman_scott who wrote (161735)	5/11/2005 2:03:31 PM
From: jttmab	Read Replies (1) of 281500

Friedman has been on [either C-Span or CNN] recently and talked at some length about the flat world. That's the real news out there, folks. And it's not funny. IMO, the outlook isn't that good. As he did in this article, he has a strong emphasis on engineering. Though I think he goes too far in claiming that if you're in engineering you'll be fine. Engineering can be outsourced easier than manufacturing. Sooner or later, it comes down to labor rates for engineers. Plus, he seems to ignore that not everyone has the capacity to be an engineer or doctor or whatever highly educated career he wants to imagine. What the heck happens to all the people with an IQ below 100. That's half the population. Maybe someone with an IQ can become a doctor? I don't want him/her as my doctor. While it's true that old jobs get phased out for new jobs and new inventions happen every day, improved productivity has a negative overall impact on jobs. Somewhere around the web, there's an article that points out that over the last decade there's been a global net loss of manufacturing jobs. We're producing more, with less people. In the service sector, which is where the economic world is evolving towards, a similar phenomena occurs. Fewer bank tellers replaced by ATM machines. On-line banking replaces tellers. Purchasing over the web replaces the needs for sales people. Pump your own gas eliminates gas station attendants. There's not anything we can do about that curve short of everyone working for the government.... a global WPA program. It's not something I expect to see in my lifetime ... maybe another 30 years or so, but population growth and improved productivity are headed on a collision course. And in terms of the timeline of human history, it's not that far away. jttmab

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