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To: WebDrone who wrote (5322)	6/26/1999 2:39:00 AM
From: Dr Smith	Respond to of 8218

WebDrone I don't understand why the observations I have made and the ones you have just admitted to are causing you difficulty. The trend is obvious and it is big, and it is not just IBM. Therefore, it is worth talking/chating/posting about. Unless of course, people wish to keep their heads in the sand. This is an interesting issue. Is it not? Read the following for more details, we are not just talking about people that flip hambergers: rogerhedgecock.com

To: WebDrone who wrote (5322)	6/26/1999 6:37:00 PM
From: Dr Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8218

WebDrone - I guess these arguments need more explanations. The tends of the new economy should be obvious to all. And I am not being confrontational when I list these changes that we are all observing: (1) Technology, particular computers and the internet. There are now better ways to do things and on a global sale, and gone are the typing pools and card punchers. (2) With the end of the cold war we are now seeing the triumph of capitalism world-wide. Globalization has lead to the harvest of cheap labor from 3rd world countries like Mexico and India. We are not just talking about unskilled labor, we are talking about skilled labor like computer programming. (3) The decline of organized labor in America since the high point in the 1950's, and the influx of highly skilled entry level people that are being produced at the education factories we call universities. (4) The involvement of women in the work force. I know this sounds politically incorrect, but I am not saying that this is necessarily negative. We do, however, have a significant increase in the supply of labor as a result. (5) American labor is burdened with a regressive 15.2% social security and medicare tax (this includes the employers share). We are told that Americans are not saving enough, and that they should prepare for their retirement. Well with this 15.2% tax, Americans are probably saving more that any other people. Of course we all know that the social security system is a big rip off, so the comparison is mainly academic. When we complain, we are asked to live with it and "compete" in the global economy. With the positive changes we see a lot, perhaps too much, dislocation that is occurring because of the new trends. I don't want to be completely negative with people, so I will list some of the adaptations that people have been making when they get laid off at age 35 or 40 because of cheaper labor (mainly entry level or foreign): (1) Become self-employed or become a private consultant. (2) Go into management if you can. (3) Go through re-training and become a "temp" if you are not able to get a full time job. (4) Invest heavy into the stock market as an insurance policy. (5) Move to a foreign country (if you can find one) to avoid the regressive social security tax where you are able to "compete". When I went through this life change, what worked best for me was (4). Now I am benefiting from the global trends rather than facing serious exploitation. I hope this clarifies the picture.

To: WebDrone who wrote (5322)	6/28/1999 11:22:00 AM
From: David Harker	Respond to of 8218

>Now IBM says they are moving disk drive jobs (1100 of them) to >where the cheap labor lives. They said they are not laying 1100 >workers off. Some will be retrained. Good tech help is in short >supply. I agree, about the "short supply". Some of those 1,100 laid off are engineers. Some used to work in IBM Rochester (MN) which used to have disk drive work at that site - that work got transferred to CA, so did they. This weekend's Rochester paper stated that the Western Digital plant here in Roch. is openly looking to hire some of these "former Rochester, now laid-off" IBM disk engineers. The WDC plant manager here is a former IBM manager, I used to work for him here at IBM. FWIW...