Outsource This!
And a good Tuesday morning to you all!
I apologize for the time between this and the previous journal entry; I'm finding constructing a daily journal gets to be a real pain in the ass. I'm thinking about making this a weekly entry, but haven't decided yet.
After some trouble last week constructing a main character, I'm happy to say that I'm back on track. It's a strange circumstance that I find myself in, writing wise. The characters that were easy to create and write in the first draft are far more difficult in the second, and vise-versa. Perhaps these are characters that I hadn't given much weight to and now I'm really trying to delve into them in a no-character-left-behind plan. :) Regardless of the setbacks, Chapter 1 has been completed and I'm five pages into Chapter 2 "Crash". Though the original draft had an existing structure, I'm disregarding it to some degree, so I'm going to have to sit down today and create a brief outline for what's to come in the remainder of the chapter. As I've stated before, this is more of a complete re-write than an editing draft.
So I've been giving quite a bit of thought to the recent state of financial life in the U.S.A. Is it just me, or do things seem dire? IBM has announced a termination of their pension plans and Ford is laying off approximately 30,000 people and closing several plants. Now, while any thinking person can understand the bottom line of this lay off is the lack of product sales, the other sited cause is the rising cost of health care. Now, I want you to take a moment and think about that line. Ready? Here it is again, "the rising cost of health care." How many times have you heard that phrase throughout your life? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It's no longer just "something that happens to other people". It's something that likely could happen to all of us.
Scott's Miracle Grow is going to start firing employees who smoke, because of raised health costs. Hamilton Beach won't even hire people who use tobacco products, presumably for the same reason. Now, this will be a rant for another time, mainly how far can an employer go into your personal life before nullifying the Constitution? But like I said, a rant for another time. This rant is about health care and how fucking expensive it's becoming in America.
A reasonable health plan for a married couple in the United States will cost in range of $350 to $550 per month! On the higher end, that's over $6,000 per year! That number can be even higher for families. Now, some of you might say, no big deal, I have health insurance through my employer. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the real point of this rant. How long will you actually have health insurance through your employer? Or more truly, how long will you be an employee?
Corporate America is taking an ugly shift toward the east. Now I'm old enough to remember back in the 80's when something similar to this was going on with Japan. People were buying imports over domestic and the Japanese were ridiculing us for our work habits. The result was something like, Americans are fat and lazy and don't want to work as hard as us. So for years there was panic over a new Japanese invasion of America that didn't start in Pearl Harbor, but rather in the business districts of New York and Los Angeles. For a while it seemed as though this would succeed where military might failed, but along the way an important lesson was learned by both sides. Japan realized they had to Americanize their outlook to succeed. Eventually they even opened thier doors to American companies in Japan, Toys R' Us being one of the first to make the transitition.
So, if that approach failed, why are so many American companies doing the same thing to the American people some quarter century later? Well it could be that they simply forgot. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." And by God, I think he's right! In 1941, our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor (interesting recurrance for my theme, no?) and we rallied, finally joining the war in Europe and battling the Japanese in Asia. Then, somewhere along the way we went to sleep and sadly, that tree of liberty began to wane. Then again, in 2001, we were attacked and dealt an equally (if not worse) horrible blow. Again the blood of patriots and tyrants is flowing and the tree is refreshed. A simple matter, America forgets. And so now, does its corporate mentality.
Take for instance Capital One. This company is rapidly outsourcing whatever employee jobs it can get away with to India. They believe that in the long run, replacing your job with someone willing to take 1/3 of your pay without paid health benefits is going to save them money. For the jobs not immediately shifted to the east, well those positions will be made into contract slots. And there's the rub. Contract jobs usually come in at six month stints, and as a result, few if any contracting agencies will offer benefits for such a short-term contract. Now many of these positions will be renewed (some up until 2 years) but only in six-month increments, meaning you will NEVER qualify for benefits from the contracting agency. You're not even allowed to buy into their health plan.
Now again, permanent (and I use this term extremely loosely) will say, so what, contractors make a lot more money. That may seem so ... but when you factor in the health benefits cost, the lack of pay for any holiday or God forbid, a sick day then you're really not seeing the result of so much money. And if you want a child? You might as well just about forget it. Furthermore, ask your friendly neighborhood contractor if he really wants to be a contractor. I think you'll find the larger percentage saying, "Fuck no!" Contracting today isn't like contracting ten years ago, where the brave went out on their own in search of glory and gigantic paychecks. These days contracting is what happens to YOU when that company you so admire and bust your ass for decides that Hodgie in India can do your job for a third of your pay. How will you pay for health care for your family then? When the Christmas holidays roll around and you realize that your income will be cut by 1/5 three weeks in a row unless you work ten-hour days to recover on those weeks. How much fun will the holidays be then? The gap between employees and contractors is growing each and every day, and I've got news for you, the larger side is contractors desperately seeking full-time employment. They're desperate, hungry and they want your job! And who's responsible for this strife? Why that company that you work for of course.
So back to the example of Capital One. This company is taking your interest rates, your late fees and your overdue fees and any number of other countless fees and instead of putting that money back into the economy they're taking it from, are instead shipping a good portion of it overseas. So folks, the laws of physics still apply ... the pool their sticking their buckets in is going to shrink. Take this example: You're a widget maker for Cap One. Cap One decides that your job is better suited (ie, more cheaply produced) in India. Suddenly you're out of work. No problem you think, I'll become a contractor. Uh oh ... there's a thousand people out there in my city who do just what I do, all looking for contract positions. Uh oh ... unemployment benefits are running out. And like a good doobie, you have a Capital One credit card ... you know, to support the company you work for. Now you're using that card to buy groceries ... and of course you're unable to make the payments, so now late fees and over-the-limit fees will start to accrue. And health care? Oh you're still eligible for COBRA benefits, if of course you could afford the ridiculous cost of them. Yes, YOU the permanent employee are now a rectal hair away from dying alone in a puddle of your own urine in a welfare hospital! Okay, so I exaggerate ... but I think you get my point.
Now, this is not a complete loss, because like all lessons that history has taught us, this too shall pass. Mostly because when it comes right down to it, Americans like dealing with Americans. When you call customer service and talk to Bobby (yes a new motivation in India is for customer service representatives to adopt American first names to sound more American in an effort to be accepted by Americans) who has a rather thick Indian accent and as usual, his computer system is down, you get frustrated. Why? Maybe it's because you know that Bobby doesn't really give a shit about you, and can smile while telling you so. Maybe it's because you know that no matter how much you yell and threaten to switch phone companies (yes Sprint ... I'm talking about you) it really isn't going to matter much to this individual thousands of miles away. In other words, you feel impotent. You feel like the system's bitch. And you know what? You are.
Why am I so on about this? Well, I'm really in no danger of being outsourced, unless I of course move to India ... which you can pretty much assume I'd rather be castrated than do. And all of my books are written, printed and published in America. But that doesn't mean I don't have a say as to what's happening to my beloved country. What these companies are doing is nothing short of economic terrorism and I would love for the government to step in and do something about it. It would be illegal for them to force these companies to hire American, but they can certainly do without the added benefits they enjoy, such as thier lucrative tax breaks, many of which were offered for the large amount of local employement they generated. I'm a patriot, and I hurt every time one of my friends is let go because his job was outsourced. Another American falls ... another American Dream has to be renegotiated. Remember this Corporate America ... you got rich on our money and eventually you'll fall with us, when our money is gone.
In the meantime we suffer as so many of us refuse to believe we're embroiled in another new kind of war. But everyday your co-workers and perhaps you yourself become casulties. And Capital One can continue asking, "What's in your wallet?" And the American People can continue to respond, "Nothing ..."
Currently Reading: Small Town by Lawrence Block
I apologize for the time between this and the previous journal entry; I'm finding constructing a daily journal gets to be a real pain in the ass. I'm thinking about making this a weekly entry, but haven't decided yet.
After some trouble last week constructing a main character, I'm happy to say that I'm back on track. It's a strange circumstance that I find myself in, writing wise. The characters that were easy to create and write in the first draft are far more difficult in the second, and vise-versa. Perhaps these are characters that I hadn't given much weight to and now I'm really trying to delve into them in a no-character-left-behind plan. :) Regardless of the setbacks, Chapter 1 has been completed and I'm five pages into Chapter 2 "Crash". Though the original draft had an existing structure, I'm disregarding it to some degree, so I'm going to have to sit down today and create a brief outline for what's to come in the remainder of the chapter. As I've stated before, this is more of a complete re-write than an editing draft.
So I've been giving quite a bit of thought to the recent state of financial life in the U.S.A. Is it just me, or do things seem dire? IBM has announced a termination of their pension plans and Ford is laying off approximately 30,000 people and closing several plants. Now, while any thinking person can understand the bottom line of this lay off is the lack of product sales, the other sited cause is the rising cost of health care. Now, I want you to take a moment and think about that line. Ready? Here it is again, "the rising cost of health care." How many times have you heard that phrase throughout your life? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It's no longer just "something that happens to other people". It's something that likely could happen to all of us.
Scott's Miracle Grow is going to start firing employees who smoke, because of raised health costs. Hamilton Beach won't even hire people who use tobacco products, presumably for the same reason. Now, this will be a rant for another time, mainly how far can an employer go into your personal life before nullifying the Constitution? But like I said, a rant for another time. This rant is about health care and how fucking expensive it's becoming in America.
A reasonable health plan for a married couple in the United States will cost in range of $350 to $550 per month! On the higher end, that's over $6,000 per year! That number can be even higher for families. Now, some of you might say, no big deal, I have health insurance through my employer. And that ladies and gentlemen, is the real point of this rant. How long will you actually have health insurance through your employer? Or more truly, how long will you be an employee?
Corporate America is taking an ugly shift toward the east. Now I'm old enough to remember back in the 80's when something similar to this was going on with Japan. People were buying imports over domestic and the Japanese were ridiculing us for our work habits. The result was something like, Americans are fat and lazy and don't want to work as hard as us. So for years there was panic over a new Japanese invasion of America that didn't start in Pearl Harbor, but rather in the business districts of New York and Los Angeles. For a while it seemed as though this would succeed where military might failed, but along the way an important lesson was learned by both sides. Japan realized they had to Americanize their outlook to succeed. Eventually they even opened thier doors to American companies in Japan, Toys R' Us being one of the first to make the transitition.
So, if that approach failed, why are so many American companies doing the same thing to the American people some quarter century later? Well it could be that they simply forgot. Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." And by God, I think he's right! In 1941, our country was attacked at Pearl Harbor (interesting recurrance for my theme, no?) and we rallied, finally joining the war in Europe and battling the Japanese in Asia. Then, somewhere along the way we went to sleep and sadly, that tree of liberty began to wane. Then again, in 2001, we were attacked and dealt an equally (if not worse) horrible blow. Again the blood of patriots and tyrants is flowing and the tree is refreshed. A simple matter, America forgets. And so now, does its corporate mentality.
Take for instance Capital One. This company is rapidly outsourcing whatever employee jobs it can get away with to India. They believe that in the long run, replacing your job with someone willing to take 1/3 of your pay without paid health benefits is going to save them money. For the jobs not immediately shifted to the east, well those positions will be made into contract slots. And there's the rub. Contract jobs usually come in at six month stints, and as a result, few if any contracting agencies will offer benefits for such a short-term contract. Now many of these positions will be renewed (some up until 2 years) but only in six-month increments, meaning you will NEVER qualify for benefits from the contracting agency. You're not even allowed to buy into their health plan.
Now again, permanent (and I use this term extremely loosely) will say, so what, contractors make a lot more money. That may seem so ... but when you factor in the health benefits cost, the lack of pay for any holiday or God forbid, a sick day then you're really not seeing the result of so much money. And if you want a child? You might as well just about forget it. Furthermore, ask your friendly neighborhood contractor if he really wants to be a contractor. I think you'll find the larger percentage saying, "Fuck no!" Contracting today isn't like contracting ten years ago, where the brave went out on their own in search of glory and gigantic paychecks. These days contracting is what happens to YOU when that company you so admire and bust your ass for decides that Hodgie in India can do your job for a third of your pay. How will you pay for health care for your family then? When the Christmas holidays roll around and you realize that your income will be cut by 1/5 three weeks in a row unless you work ten-hour days to recover on those weeks. How much fun will the holidays be then? The gap between employees and contractors is growing each and every day, and I've got news for you, the larger side is contractors desperately seeking full-time employment. They're desperate, hungry and they want your job! And who's responsible for this strife? Why that company that you work for of course.
So back to the example of Capital One. This company is taking your interest rates, your late fees and your overdue fees and any number of other countless fees and instead of putting that money back into the economy they're taking it from, are instead shipping a good portion of it overseas. So folks, the laws of physics still apply ... the pool their sticking their buckets in is going to shrink. Take this example: You're a widget maker for Cap One. Cap One decides that your job is better suited (ie, more cheaply produced) in India. Suddenly you're out of work. No problem you think, I'll become a contractor. Uh oh ... there's a thousand people out there in my city who do just what I do, all looking for contract positions. Uh oh ... unemployment benefits are running out. And like a good doobie, you have a Capital One credit card ... you know, to support the company you work for. Now you're using that card to buy groceries ... and of course you're unable to make the payments, so now late fees and over-the-limit fees will start to accrue. And health care? Oh you're still eligible for COBRA benefits, if of course you could afford the ridiculous cost of them. Yes, YOU the permanent employee are now a rectal hair away from dying alone in a puddle of your own urine in a welfare hospital! Okay, so I exaggerate ... but I think you get my point.
Now, this is not a complete loss, because like all lessons that history has taught us, this too shall pass. Mostly because when it comes right down to it, Americans like dealing with Americans. When you call customer service and talk to Bobby (yes a new motivation in India is for customer service representatives to adopt American first names to sound more American in an effort to be accepted by Americans) who has a rather thick Indian accent and as usual, his computer system is down, you get frustrated. Why? Maybe it's because you know that Bobby doesn't really give a shit about you, and can smile while telling you so. Maybe it's because you know that no matter how much you yell and threaten to switch phone companies (yes Sprint ... I'm talking about you) it really isn't going to matter much to this individual thousands of miles away. In other words, you feel impotent. You feel like the system's bitch. And you know what? You are.
Why am I so on about this? Well, I'm really in no danger of being outsourced, unless I of course move to India ... which you can pretty much assume I'd rather be castrated than do. And all of my books are written, printed and published in America. But that doesn't mean I don't have a say as to what's happening to my beloved country. What these companies are doing is nothing short of economic terrorism and I would love for the government to step in and do something about it. It would be illegal for them to force these companies to hire American, but they can certainly do without the added benefits they enjoy, such as thier lucrative tax breaks, many of which were offered for the large amount of local employement they generated. I'm a patriot, and I hurt every time one of my friends is let go because his job was outsourced. Another American falls ... another American Dream has to be renegotiated. Remember this Corporate America ... you got rich on our money and eventually you'll fall with us, when our money is gone.
In the meantime we suffer as so many of us refuse to believe we're embroiled in another new kind of war. But everyday your co-workers and perhaps you yourself become casulties. And Capital One can continue asking, "What's in your wallet?" And the American People can continue to respond, "Nothing ..."
Currently Reading: Small Town by Lawrence Block
posted by Stefan & Holly | 8:52 AM
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