Posted by Sir Four at 1:27pm Jun 3 '05Salon.com has an article today about the manufacture of Apple's i-Pod. Despite Apple being US-based, no part of the i-Pod is manufactured in the US--or by Apple, for that matter. The main chip inside the i-Pod is provided by a company based in California, but that company outsources the manufacture to China. They outsource the testing to the Taiwanese. The outsource much of the design and engineering work to India.
What is done in the US? Well, the initial funding is US-based and the CEO sits in the US and some of the design is done in the US. But that's it. High-tech facilities are springing up all over Asia. The technology transfer from the US to these countries is enormous, in the name of lowering production costs.
But are we neglecting a much larger, less tangiable cost? If we ship out everything that gives the US its advantage, what is left for us?
Pro-globalization folks say not to worry, the US's core competency is that we lead technology. We'll always be a necessary part of the equation, because we have the brain power and we have the management know-how and we are just bred to sit at the top of the pyramid.
Okay, am I the only one to see the inherent racism in such an argument? Let me tell you, the top universities in India are minting graduates with advanced degrees as fast as they possibly can. There is no special advantage that comes with being a white guy in the US that can't be duplicated somewhere else. We don't have an exclusive lock on brain power, and our knowledge advantage is evaporating completely. Why keep the US-based portion of the corporate structure in the loop? So some white guys out in San Jose can afford their yachting hobbies?
Through outsourcing, we are equipping our economic competitors with every possible advantage, and just blindly believing that we are so important as to always remain a link in the chain.
What are we doing about it? Nothing!
No wait, we aren't doing nothing...we are actively harming ourselves. How?
First, the competitive edge clearly lies with a high degree of education. Yet we have states trying to get Creationism taught in schools and in general our schools are failing a large portion of the population. And if you go to any high tech college campus, you'll see mostly Indian and Asian faces staring back at you. And I can tell you in my line of work, when the company I work for looks for new hires most of the qualified applicants are European or Indian. Few Americans. Why?
Oh yeah, I was talking about how we are actively harming ourselves. Who is particularly responsible? Here's a hint, his middle initial is W. History will remember Bush as a colossal failure not for Iraq but for failed leadership that led to America's economic decline. What do I mean?
If we take the globalists' word and America's core competency is remaining at the cutting edge of developing technologies, Bush has delivered us at least two body blows. First, stem cell research. Countries such as South Korea have recognized their opportunity to leapfrog ahead of the US because Bush refuses to support this research. The second case of failed leadership is in the area of energy technology. Instead of laying out a bold vision and then taking action, with something akin to the Apollo mission that grew out of Kennedy's vision, all we get from Bush is a couple of worthless lines some speech writer slipped in about hydrogen and "clean coal". And so like stem cells, a lot of the best research into replacement technologies for fossil fuels is happening outside of US borders.
So let's get this straight. America's schools rank poorly. Top technology colleges are populated heavily with non-citizens. We're dependent on keeping a technological advantage, but countries like India, Taiwan, and South Korea are right on our tails. Oh yeah, and we're shipping all our current technological advantages to those same countries. There is high-tech research going on in the medical and energy fields, but much of it is being done outside the US because Bush fails to grasp the need for the US to dominate in these industries. And if you follow the gist of the religious conservative movement in general, its aim is to recreate America as some quaint, provincialist society in which teaching Creationism in schools doesn't seem like such a bad idea. That's not a recipe for survival in this globalized world. Oh yeah, but somehow magically the US will stay on top, due to some vaguely racist belief that our birthright is to sit at the top of the food chain.
So, what are we gonna do about this?
What is done in the US? Well, the initial funding is US-based and the CEO sits in the US and some of the design is done in the US. But that's it. High-tech facilities are springing up all over Asia. The technology transfer from the US to these countries is enormous, in the name of lowering production costs.
But are we neglecting a much larger, less tangiable cost? If we ship out everything that gives the US its advantage, what is left for us?
Pro-globalization folks say not to worry, the US's core competency is that we lead technology. We'll always be a necessary part of the equation, because we have the brain power and we have the management know-how and we are just bred to sit at the top of the pyramid.
Okay, am I the only one to see the inherent racism in such an argument? Let me tell you, the top universities in India are minting graduates with advanced degrees as fast as they possibly can. There is no special advantage that comes with being a white guy in the US that can't be duplicated somewhere else. We don't have an exclusive lock on brain power, and our knowledge advantage is evaporating completely. Why keep the US-based portion of the corporate structure in the loop? So some white guys out in San Jose can afford their yachting hobbies?
Through outsourcing, we are equipping our economic competitors with every possible advantage, and just blindly believing that we are so important as to always remain a link in the chain.
What are we doing about it? Nothing!
No wait, we aren't doing nothing...we are actively harming ourselves. How?
First, the competitive edge clearly lies with a high degree of education. Yet we have states trying to get Creationism taught in schools and in general our schools are failing a large portion of the population. And if you go to any high tech college campus, you'll see mostly Indian and Asian faces staring back at you. And I can tell you in my line of work, when the company I work for looks for new hires most of the qualified applicants are European or Indian. Few Americans. Why?
Oh yeah, I was talking about how we are actively harming ourselves. Who is particularly responsible? Here's a hint, his middle initial is W. History will remember Bush as a colossal failure not for Iraq but for failed leadership that led to America's economic decline. What do I mean?
If we take the globalists' word and America's core competency is remaining at the cutting edge of developing technologies, Bush has delivered us at least two body blows. First, stem cell research. Countries such as South Korea have recognized their opportunity to leapfrog ahead of the US because Bush refuses to support this research. The second case of failed leadership is in the area of energy technology. Instead of laying out a bold vision and then taking action, with something akin to the Apollo mission that grew out of Kennedy's vision, all we get from Bush is a couple of worthless lines some speech writer slipped in about hydrogen and "clean coal". And so like stem cells, a lot of the best research into replacement technologies for fossil fuels is happening outside of US borders.
So let's get this straight. America's schools rank poorly. Top technology colleges are populated heavily with non-citizens. We're dependent on keeping a technological advantage, but countries like India, Taiwan, and South Korea are right on our tails. Oh yeah, and we're shipping all our current technological advantages to those same countries. There is high-tech research going on in the medical and energy fields, but much of it is being done outside the US because Bush fails to grasp the need for the US to dominate in these industries. And if you follow the gist of the religious conservative movement in general, its aim is to recreate America as some quaint, provincialist society in which teaching Creationism in schools doesn't seem like such a bad idea. That's not a recipe for survival in this globalized world. Oh yeah, but somehow magically the US will stay on top, due to some vaguely racist belief that our birthright is to sit at the top of the food chain.
So, what are we gonna do about this?