Give to 1.6 Million; Lay the foundation to take from 1 Billion – Should you complain?

By Rajesh Setty on Fri 26 Jan 2007, 6:39 PM - 6 Comments

The last few years there have been many protests in the US about outsourcing and the loss of jobs. I was a bit confused on that but this trip to India it made it clear.

I spent most of my time in Bangalore and Chennai and saw what the consumers were fascinated with. Here are a few examples

* They are driving Ford and Chevrolet cars

* They are enjoying pizzas from Pizza Hut and Dominos

* They are watching the latest movies from Hollywood

* Walmart is coming soon I believe

* Bharti has signed up with AXA Insurance to roll-out their offers natinowide

* Talk about anything from perfumes to handbags to computers and servers – they are buying American brands.

There are going to be 1.6 million technology professionals in FY2007 and there are 1 Billion consumers. You do the math. And, if you apply pure logic, outsourcing should only increase because it will make the foundation stronger for American brands to sell to Indian consumers.

My $.02 of course.

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Anonymous on January 27th, 2007

Oh man. Yes, I will complain. Did you know that if the whole world consumed stuff like Americans it would take four planets Earth to sustain it all?
Talk about life beyond consumption for once, not just life beyond code.
Do you want to have a generation of people to grow up after you to help take care of you in your old age? Not necessarily your own kids – other people’s kids. You know, a society or civilization?
If so you should be very, very concerned about American consumerism. If it makes its way to India and China, the planet will be toast in two or three generations. Life – gone.

Anonymous on January 27th, 2007

Cool. Good points.
My question was targeted at people who were complaining about outsourcing taking away their jobs.
Apart from what you have highlighted, there are so many other complications that come up with extreme consumerism.
Thanks for the candid note.
Best,
Raj

Anonymous on January 27th, 2007

Every one of your examples is based on products that are produced by blue-collar workers. When people in the States complain of outsourcing, it’s more due to the perception that white-collar technical jobs requiring a college education are being lost to Indian counterparts.
I doubt that any technical person in the US will rejoice in the fact that India is buying such products. Demand for only these products will leave us with the following career options:
a) Manufacture cars for Ford and Chevy (who are dying slow deaths)
b) Deliver pizzas for Pizza Hut
c) Act in a Hollywood movie
d) Work at Walmart
e) Sell insurance
f) Manufacture products which are quickly getting outsourced to Chinese manufacturing firms.
So yes, you’re right…there are jobs to be had in these sectors. But they aren’t skilled nor do they require a college education.

Anonymous on January 27th, 2007

Thanks Karthik. Good points there. Like I said, I only picked a few examples but as we both know, there are many more that we can list.
Extending your argument a bit here. When there is an explosion (a good kind) and the demand shoots up in manufacturing sectors In United States and abroad, it is not only the manufacturing jobs that open up but also the IT jobs that support the manufacturing processes etc.
The work will migrate to a place where there is predictable delivery and reasonable costs.
My point is that when some kinds of jobs migrate to other places along with the rise of the demand for consumer products some other kinds of jobs open up. Agreed that they are not the same but for sure, there are other opportunities. The problem comes when someone does not want to adapt to the new change and wants to maintain the status quo.
My $.02 of course
Best,
Raj

Anonymous on January 29th, 2007

This is a confused bit of logic. The people who complain about outsourcing are those most likely to lose good jobs. They have approximately nothing to gain from an increase in American pizza and DVD sales.
The big shareholders of America’s brands are not complaining, as far as I can tell; in fact, they are lobbying in favor of offshoring.
There are two distinct groups here, and both are looking after their own interests.

Anonymous on January 30th, 2007

Good point there. Very valid point there. Thanks for bringing this up.
Someone is losing a job but somewhere else jobs are being created. The point is that one can complain or one can watch the dynamics and see where the new jobs will be created and start equipping oneself to take advantage of new opportunities.
My $.02 of course.
Also, to make it clear, I agree with your point and there was a flaw in my original post. Thanks for that.
best,
Raj