[rescue] Do you remember when? Security software.....

[Francisco Javier Mesa-Martinez]

On 12 Aug 2003, Daniel de Young wrote:

> Fun to joke about :), but IMHO, regulation (and taxes) is the *major*
> factor in driving jobs overseas.  I don't see how we can regulate
> business into keeping jobs here.

Very easy, put tariffs on American products made overseas so that it is
less "convenient" to ship jobs offshore.

In all seriousness, I believe it is both a structural and cultural
problem. There is little "accountability" for managing teams, therefore
they can be isolated from consecuences from their actions. Thus making
their policies rather absurd IMHO. There is also a quick buck mentality,
and a lack of pride in quality.

  When you tell a person he can't to
> something, what does he spend most of his waking hours trying to find a
> way of doing?  What we need is a way to encourage business to keep jobs
> here.  Incentives work far better than regulations.

Absolutely, but you must understand that once Corporations get used to
"incentives" they can use them as "blackmail." And there is no way of
having any sort of security that once a company has exhausted all the
"incentives" it will not end up leaving anyways.

  It's simple human
> nature.  However, with a press that loves to push the philosophy of tax
> breaks for people who don't pay taxes

Huh? I am missing something here, rich people do pay some taxes :)

> (just to rally votes) and "end corporate welfare", not to mention a
> population that increasingly thinks it's "owed" something because it
> exists, it's unlikely that the US will be saved from total economic
> implosion.

I don't believe that most Americans think they are "owed" anything, in
fact I grew up in Europe and I amazed at the low level of expectations a
lot of Americans have for returns in their investment in their own
governmnent (taxes)

> I will never buy the "evil corporation" theory.  Management teams are
> obligated to make numbers or the board will kick them to the pavement.
> Anybody who thinks that a corporation ships off jobs just to be assholes
> is missing the point.

The point is that they do not research other solutions, at any point those
management "teams" look for the easiest solution, without any regards for
past or future consecuencies. They do not do it because they are assholes,
they do it because they lack the knowledge to actually do their job and
find a real solution. As long as those management teams are as a
"reaction" driven system, you might aswell replace them with trained
monkeys because you will get the same result. At a much much much lower
cost. IMHO... a management team's job is to MANAGE, not to REACT.

Corporations are not evil per se, they are profit oriented... and
sometimes they can get stuck in some "local" focii (max or min whatever
you want to look at it). Hence regulation is indeed needed, in the same
way I do not believe in invisible could beings, I sure as hell do not
trust things to "invisible" hands... :) Also the problem is that
corporations are viewed a simple profit driven entities, without any sort
of expectations for social responsability. Profit and returns are not the
only thing that should be expected from a corporation. In the same sense
that "breeding and passing your genes" would not be the only expectation
from an individual.

  Unfortunately, people feel powerless to enact
> change and wind up voting for people who's sole mission in life is to
> transfer their voting base's economic strife into the pockets of
> business.  Business in turn transfers it back to all the working stiffs
> and eventually leaves the state or even country and then there is less
> working stiffs... so they go back to business and the whole cycle starts
> over.  It's sick really.

My view is that when you mix inept politicians, with inept business
managers, and throw a pinch of uneducated voting base... only bad things
can happen.