On 12/25/06, Peter P. wrote: > NYT article (requires subscription but it's free - or use > http://www.bugmenot.com/) > > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/business/yourmoney/24view.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin > > Maybe this deserves a discussion, the US is not the only industrialized country > affected by this, by far. > http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2006-12-05-skilled-workers-shortage_x.htm I believe this is not that bad. I've just come back from US. I think the working environment there is really very good. I also think US is a country blessed with natural resources and many talented people. In my opinion, no country can catch up with US in terms of technology any time soon (at least not in this century). China and India have a long way to go. And the cost in the better-off areas in China/India are increasing in a rate that they may soon lose the competitiveness. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_13/b3977049.htm In fact, quite some business in Southern China are moving to cheaper places like Vietnam and Bangladesh. And for those exporters in China/India, I believe most of the profits go to companies in US/EU since the value chain is like this: The factory workers earn very little. The boss of the factory earns a bit. The exporter earns more and the importer/retailer in EU/US earn even more... And I also see there is a "reverse brain drain". A lot of the top talented people in poor countries are migrating to developed countries. I got quite some friends in US and they all like life in US quite a lot and they will stay in US. I am the only one who quit study in US and left US among many Chinese students I know of. Countries like Singapore are actually very vulnerable. The manufacturing cost here is much higher than in China/India but the R&D is much weaker than US/Europe/Japan. Luckily the government here is top-notch and manages to carve a niche. Yes there will be always some lower end jobs moving out of US/EU. However the manufacturing sector will always be an important sector and there will always a balance by ecnomical prinicples and even policy intereference. The strong R&D will always keep US/EU in the business of manufacturing. Regards, Xiaofan -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist