Cheaper programmers, it can't get any lower

[Dustin Decker]

On Fri, 8 Aug 2003, Jason Clinton wrote:

> Bradley Miller wrote:
> 
> > but when cars cost more than the average assembly line worker makes in 
> > a year and when it takes two incomes just to run a household . . . 
> > there is a problem somewhere.
> 
> The Iron Law of Wages: wages will tend to sink to a level of bare
> subsistence because there's always someone willing to work for less than
> you -- read Marx if you have some free time. It's the economic system we
> live in. We can only hope the rich have enough data available to them to
> keep it from collapsing. All we can do is try to stay afloat. C'est la vivé.

Marx made a serious error in assuming that 100% employment was a)  
achievable and b) desirable.  While in a number of industries it is
certainly plausible to say, "I need ten warm bodies, and any body will
do" it won't fly in all forms of industry.  (Yes for shoveling horse dung, 
no for providing effective human services.)

Case in point - there are plenty of folks right here in K.C. that _can_ do 
all of the work that is being shipped over seas.  In as much as there are, 
there are certainly a number of folks in K.C. that we would never want 
these jobs to be filled by.  Ultimately, it would appear that many of the 
companies who are sending jobs over seas are looking at a cingular item, 
cost, and making decisions accordingly.

There is a problem with this - that nearly anyone should be able to see; 
there are simply too many factors to consider, and cost alone isn't enough 
to make an informed decision.  Ceteris Paribus may work out well when 
examining a model, but in the real world it equates to nothing less than 
tunnel vision.

Dustin

-- 
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| Dustin Decker - CNA, MCP          |
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