Wipro's Azim Premji - 'The man who wants to take your jobs'

Bob George mailings02 at ttlexceeded.com
Mon Mar 22 11:07:37 EST 2004


Gina Minks wrote:

> [...] Actually, the government's job is to aim for full employment of
>  the American people. There are already rules in place to force these
>  companies to play fair, but they are not being enforced.

That I agree with. But I don't the the goverment can "mandate" full
employment, even as much as we'd like it to. That laws are not evenly
enforced is not surprising, though certainly disappointing.

> And isn't it funny that the cost of labor is cheaper in companies 
> that do not allow IT workers to strike, that do not enforce labor or 
> safety standards upon companies. Isn't it funny that these companies 
> can take  advantage of tax breaks from the US government, and then 
> turn around and destroy the tax base by shipping jobs to another 
> country?

That's the nonsense that gets me going. Companies brining IN labor with 
the current market is shameful.

> Do you realize that most Japanese cars are built in the US? This is 
> because we taxed the import of automobiles, so the Japanese auto 
> makers found it prudent to create factories in America to assemble 
> their cars so that they would still be able to operate in the US 
> market.

There's a big difference between "assembled" and "built". The 'tech' 
items -- engines particularly -- are still often built overseas. What 
particularly disturbs me about this is that engines are what a country 
fights wars with. I don't know that we could ramp up to fight a war like 
we did in WWII again.

But yes, there's a lesson there, even if I don't like the outcome.

> Maybe that is one way to attack this issue...tax the product that is 
> being sent back to US shores from these call centers and other IT 
> shops where labor is cheaper.

Or at least ensure it's a TWO-WAY street... that we're gaining something 
(collectively) in the exchange.

- Bob




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