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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: laura_bush who wrote (8713)	3/19/2004 11:42:36 AM
From: tsigprofit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

laura, thanks. I don't know about all areas (or most) - and don't pretend to, but I do know the IT market. I have been in IT for 20 years now. Over 50% of the people I know have lost their jobs in the last four years. Many were rehired eventually - including myself - but people have gone 1-2 years out of the last four without jobs. These were not stupid people, or average or mediocre people, for the most part. Many had jobs that lasted over 5-10 years - only to be through a series of jobs losses. For those that have been fortunate enough - largely through sheer luck of the draw (geography, and industry) - I do not recommend it for you. The experience would change many opinions here - much ado to the contrary.. I know for a fact, that these are in the upper 25% of skills. I've always worked for excellence in my job - but depending on the situation - that has very little to do with real world cuts. You make good points. My points yesterday were not to beat up on anyone, just to express my very real-world experience, and the experience of many that I know in IT, that live all across the US. It has been our version of the Great Depression since 2000. Those in other industries such as teaching and financial do not - and cannot - understand what really has gone on. Few other professions would tolerate this without a massive outcry - but IT workers are not unionized, and not very organized either. Actually, many swing more to the Republican / Libertarian political side, in my experience.

To: laura_bush who wrote (8713)	3/19/2004 11:47:50 AM
From: tsigprofit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20773

"Moderate" and free market. I would also point out, for all here, that this is a Moderate Forum. To me - a pure free-market view is just as extreme as a pure anti-abortion view, or a pure environmentalist view (that the environment trumps all other issues - in all situations). Or a pure view that the US is always right. Or always wrong. The US has never been either 100% pure free market - or a purely capitalist society. Never. The choice is not this simple - either pure free market - or protectionism. We already have protections for many industries such as agriculture, steel, lumber, etc, etc. We regulate how many people can come to the US (legally). We regulate work visas. We have a minimum wage. We have child labor laws. Many regulations - which are needed. Show me a country on Earth that does not protect some industries. There is no magic formula here. I reject the notion that tweaking our system to retain all of the high-value knowledge work that we can - through tax credit and other means - now makes us "Protectionist" It is not either black or white here. We have always lived in a Gray USA.