You fail to take into account standard of living... It is not dictated
alone by wages. People might get along like a millionnaire in their
country with wages one third of those in the USA...
I didn't fail to take anything into account. You should read my other
responses.
I have seen foreign people that are scary-smart in their field that would
whip any American's knowledge in a second. They remain in their country
because they like living there, plain and simple.
Well, there's some validity to that thought. For example, I live on the east
coast of the U.S. I could move to Redmond and get a job with Microsoft, and
make a good bit more for the same work. But I would be too far from my
family, and choose not to. On the other hand, I moved here to make more
money than I did living in Alabama, and it is not far from any of my family.
However, I believe that statistically this is not the case. People from
Mexico, for example, are coming into the U.S. at an incredible rate. If I
lived in a 3rd-world country, I believe I would be much more motivated to
pull up stakes and go to a more wealthy country. This is, of course, not
something I can prove, but simply my intuition.
However, this is not a debate about "America" or Americans. This is a debate
about economics. People are the same everywhere. And there are just as many
smart people everywhere, including America. As to where the smartest people
live, I would imagine that they are scattered all over the world.
Also, Oracle has been outsourcing to India for a long time. Depending on
what time you call for support, the other person on the other end of the
phone line might be in a different continent. When their shift ends, the
support tickets and the phone calls go to the next place. I've used their
support and they have the most knowledgeable people I have met through
tech support.
So, why is Oracle failing to compete?
Your examples along this line are not that good... What if I don't like
the shoes? No matter how much math I do, it ain't gonna change the shoe
for my taste...
That's just silly. It's called an "analogy." Look up "analogy" in the
dictionary. It pays to increase your word power. Here, I'll make it easy for
you:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=analogy
Hmm, so looking at things simplistically as you do, if I spend USD $90,000
for a Hummer, I get better mileage than a USD $25,000 Toyota Prius?
Who's being simplistic? This analogy sucks. First, the cost of a vehicle is
determined by quite a number of factors, and mileage is *not* one of them.
The cost of a vehicle is determined by the size of the vehicle, the quality
of the design, the number and kind of features, and the market (supply and
demand). A Hummer and a Toyota Prius are vehicles that fall into 2
completely different categories. When I was in the military, I drove a few
Hummers. They are designed as both on- and off-road vehicles, with swappable
2- and 4-wheel drive, a high ground clearance combined with a relatively low
center of gravity, a powerful diesel engine, and can drive over a 3-foot
vertical wall. In other words, they are utility vehicles, like a truck. A
Toyota Prius is simply a passenger car. The difference in price is
determined by the factors I listed above, for which the 2 vehicles have
completely different specs.
As a side note, you may be interested to know that I own a Toyota Matrix.
Anyone that drives an SUV and uses it as simply a passenger vehicle is
irresponsible and stupid. I drive 20 miles to work every day in heavy
traffic. I will save thousands of dollars a year in fuel as a result.
However, note that I did not buy a Toyota Matrix because it is cheap
(although it is reasonably priced). I bought it because when compared to
*similarly-priced* American cars, it delivers the best quality. It uses less
gas, performs better, and lasts longer. In other words, I didn't spend less
money; I researched and got the best value *for* the same amount of money.
BTW, almost all Toyotas sold in America are manufactured in America. How's
that for outsourcing?
Perhaps I should have said "All other things being equal, you get what you
pay for." It's implied, and generally not stated as such, but that's what it
means.
--
HTH,
Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
..Net Developer
We got a sick zebra a hat,
you ultimate tuna.
