No, along with debt they've also avoided social services other than Medicare.

They're from that era that believes you don't say anything about someone if you have nothing good to say. They know exactly what goes on in the world, but when I point out something like people with families having less than a month of reserves, their response is more pity than anything else. They well know people don't change and even if the union workers get a big increase, few of them will have learned a lession regarding personal finance.

 

Waxy - no problem, I took your reply to be positive. I've heard the expression many times over the years myself, but still think of an old man with white hair and a great attitude when I hear it.
Dono

 

Well, ok then George .

But it is still hard for ME to accept. Oh, wait, I'm not even eligible yet.

Nevermind

 

Quote: instead of overhead/COGS/margins driving sales required forecasts.
George - you said those dreaded words I never wanted to hear again -Sales forcasts. After 16 very satisfying years in engineering, greed took over and I switched to sales. One of the things all sales people hate are the required forcasts, most of which are pure fiction. We were asked to report in advance how much we would sell and to who. A true report could have been written in three words, "I don't know". Instead we would take our assigned quota, divide it up and assign the numbers to prospect companies and submit it. By the end of the quarter I usually made or exceeded my quota (usually with different companies) and all was well. Then I would do it all over again. My son is now in sales and things are still the same.
Dono

 

One of the things that nobody has mentioned about sending jobs overseas is security. We have been giving technology to China so that they can make better military planes, rockets, submarines and other military equipment, which they in turn will sell to our adversaries.

I've seen parts made in China to save money on manufacturing, but when you look at the whole picture, the cost is actually more. It all depends on how you play with the numbers. I won't argue there are some things that can be made cheaper elsewhere, but I think the cost savings are overblown in many cases.

Also, I have been hearing about how the financial industries are starting to send jobs overseas and I understand the desire to keep costs low. But, I do not want some foreigner to have access to all my personal data for my 401(k) or other investments. Most countries do not have the same laws as we do. Think about someone in Russia, China or Mexico getting access to all your financial data. Not a comforting thought to me.

And one thing that has made me wonder is when will we outsource all of those fat cat CEO's, CFO's and COO's so that these companies can save millions more every year? I'm sure we can get a CEO in India or China to work for about 5% of what some of the CEO's make in this country.

I'm not saying cost isn't issue, but I've seen a lot of changes that really make me wonder what the heck is going on.

 

Many years ago I did a stint in marketing, where one of our responsibilities was determining available market share by industry to assign quotas (goal was a buzzword yet to be developed) to sales regions. When the regional heads gathered for their annual budget and forecast presentations, they were asked to provide the data used in formulating their sales forecasts. To a man, each one of them presented the standard company forms listing each sales rep’s forecast, each one revised by the respective district sales secretary to reflect where the business would actually come from. Most of those secretaries (now called coordinators or other garnished names) were career people and I quickly recognized them for what they were, the counterpart of a military senior enlisted person who actually keeps things running regardless of how ineffective or uninformed management or officers might be. Those are the people we can't replace.

 

If you ever work closely with a good, responsible CEO or COO, completely different function than CFO, you'll better understand and appreciate why they're worth their weight in gold. Like any other profession within society, certain people are of exceptionable caliber.

Ethnic background is not a barrier to ability. As close-minded and discriminatory as most Americans are, I doubt that most domestic public corporation stock would survive the effect of a 'foreigner' being in charge with a 'foreign' board.

 

Depends on the stock and the "foreignness" of the name. Chrysler was eaten by Daimler with no important opposition.
BTW, outsourcing personal data overseas has already had interesting consequences.
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/200...0/bisb1110.htm

 

ctfuzzy,
I wasn't lamenting the loss of security jobs. If you can make good money at what you do for people all over the world, more power to you. I, too, am willing to take money from anyone who's willing to pay me, regardless of race, nationality, etc. My concern is not so much the job, but the security of my personal data that may reside in another country. If someone has my personal data, they've got everything they need to ruin me financially, or at least make my life real difficult for a long time until the mess gets sorted out. Maybe I just don't have any idea, but I don't think there's as much protection of my data in countries like Russia or China, or even India. The Russians are pretty good at getting credit card information from internet transactions.

 

This is my point exactly. The only reason they are good at it is because they care to be. The datastream is there for anyone that wants it regardless of where they are.

I am convinced that the personnel overseas poses the highest risk - far higher then inside the US. But I feel it is important to acknowledge that legitimately processing data in Russia was probably ~not~ the majority source for those credit card frauds.

 

That was the point I was trying to make, but you did a better job.

"But I feel it is important to acknowledge that legitimately processing data in Russia was probably ~not~ the majority source for those credit card frauds. "
Yep, understood. I don't even know that we have any financial data processing in Russia yet. But because of the personnel mentioned above, I don't want my financial data going there.

 

ME Neither !!

But the fact is - it is. As we speak.

If they have telecommunications, they have your (and my) data ~already~.

Your ATM/credit/bank card sends your account information over conventional telephone lines *accessible globally* already in digital format, every time you use it outside the lobby of the issuing intuition.
Hey, and even if you don't, your government, doctor, hospital, car dealer, bank, accountant, etc. do it for you - all the time.

 

I think the general public views an acquisition where the stock is converted or bought out in a different manner than a US board of directors naming someone from say Germany with a name difficult for most Americans to pronounce to head say a slow growth company like Proctor & Gamble. A majority of domestic equity stock, other than that handled by personal brokers for individuals and those with company affiliaton, is held by unions, municipal entities and public funds, who are very big on flag waving.

 

Thanks, I feel so much better now. I think I'll go seek comfort in a bottle of distilled spirits.

 

U.S. manufacturing is currently running about 74.8% of capacity and it is projected that it will take an output of 80% to start producing any jobs. A 5.2% gain does not sound like much, but will be extremely difficult to achieve considering our current domestic labor rates. Smart CEOs will be playing their best cards, which do not include domestic expansion.
Dono