Oh Santa, Where Art Thou?

I've been *SUCH* a good girl, Santa. Please hurry!!!!!

Timber!

Got the tree up yesterday. It's a big sucker. Going to have to find bigger boxes to put under it. lol

Offshoring - The Real Reason

Lots of politics on my mind today.. I don't average a single political posting each month, but here is my second one for the day.



Without disclosing where I work for, let me just say that I've seen a lot of offshoring, and see more of it every day. I've stood in hallways and watched mgmt take teams of people from India through the offices and let them pick out sections they want to take over.



We (as a society) have been doing this long enough to know that there's really no profit in it:

• There is still a need for people here as processes, procedures, mgmt of the offshore teams, etc. must be done.
• Facility build-out and connectivity must be paid for by the client.. that's us back in the U.S.
• There is frequently a need to hire stateside consultants to fix the errors of the offshore teams.

There are dozens of other reasons that I could list, but let me get to the point and solve a great mystery:



If we are only saving 1-10% and causing a great impact on our own society that results in lost profits (americans with no jobs = consumers not buying your products) that more than eat up that 1-10% offshore profit.... Why, why are we doing this?



The answer, my friends, is accountability. If I may generalize for a moment...It should come as no surprise that the guys upstairs, those that are truly wealthy - executives of companies medium and large, really don't care about anything but themselves.



It wasn't until post-Enron when the government starting holding executives accountable and putting them in prison. Do you think it's any coincidence that about that time is when offshoring became the norm? I don't.



It's all about finger pointing. Having the power to destroy 1000's of people's lives so you can have a shiny new yacht, exotic supercar and sexy supermodel... all the while placing blame on the other guy... that's what it's all about, always has been, always will be. The other guy being outside of U.S. jurisdiction just makes it all the more appealing.



In the end, who pays for this? Well, us, the common people, of course. In lost jobs, lost opportunities, losing all that goes with that well paying job. Society (as a whole) pays dearly when society (as individuals) slowly descends into poverty. Of course, the white collar criminals will continue to go free.



It seems damn near everything these days is made in China or Japan, and all of these services (even surgery, yikes!) is going to India. All of this to save money, but where are the savings? You'd think with companies saving *SO* much money, at some point, they might pass on a penny or two of that savings to the customer.



Offshoring has been big for about 5 years now. Let's say it takes 2 years to work out processes and for the savings to trickle down... 3 years, right?



Think about every bill you pay, every product you buy. Raise your hand and say "Yea" if you've seen prices go down or remain the same on even one bill for the past3 years.











It sure is quiet in here.

A Few Words About Illegal Immigrants

I've been giving this a lot of thought, and can no longer bite my tongue. I'm sick and damn tired of hearing about the "rights" of illegal immigrants. You are illegal, you have no rights.





Argument: Illegal immigrants ("II") are an integral part of American society.

* IIs only help to support something this country has been trying to rid itself of for centuries - slavery. By taking jobs for next to no money, they are essentially slaves... granted, by their own choosing, but it's slavery nonetheless. There is a reason minimum wage laws exist. You are hurting even those at the bottom rungs of the financial ladder; allowing employers to bypass those laws by paying you even less. Seeing African Americans support IIs baffles the living hell out of me.



Argument: IIs do jobs Americans don't want to do.

* Americans ARE willing to do these jobs, for the right price. Who has started most of the lawn maintenance, construction, cleaning, and other businesses usually associated with IIs? Americans. So obviously we are willing to do the job, we just want to be paid for it. When is the last time you say a sign that said "Paco's Roofing"

* Additionally, if given immunity or "guest worker" status, do you REALLY think they are going to continue to work for those wages? Hell no. They've organized so much that you can't go into a restaurant or turn on the tv without seeing something in Spanish. Do you really think organized labor (a union of sorts) is that far behind? Keep up this "oh, those poor people!" attitude and you are going to see these IIs making more money than you.. doing the same job.

* I was raised sort of old fashioned.. My parents believed in teaching me responsibility - if I wanted something, I worked for it. Have you taken a good look around at the jobs that used to be performed by teenagers? It's almost all IIs. What do you suppose those teenagers are doing now that they can't get jobs that are rightfully theirs? Important life lessons that impact their ethics, attitude, and drive are being missed. What impact do you think that has on this country 30 years from now?



Argument: IIs deserve to be treated equally.

* Bullshit! What part of *ILLEGAL* Immigrant don't you get? You broke the law, you are here illegally, you are a drain on our medical, educational, tax structures, and legal systems. How do you think the Mexican government would treat YOU if the roles were reversed? I bet it wouldn't be to grant amnesty! Hint: It's a felony with a 2 year prison sentence, then you are deported - your gov't has to come get you and take you across the border so that you get your punishment in your own country as well. Yes, it is strictly enforced.

Here's a solution to the USCIS/INS backlog problem: Grant a small

number (5,000?) of the most appropriately educated IIs amnesty in

exchange for working with the USCIS to clear the backlog. That's right.

A few working to put the rest away. Like it or not, it's an integral

part of how our legal system works. Informants on the streets, snitches in jail. It's how things get done. We'll have that backlog cleared in no time.



After getting all of the IIs out of this country, start

locking their asses up when they come back across the border... which is what their governments do to us, and what our laws say should be done to them. Nobody is going to take us seriously until our bark has some bite.



In closing...



First, a big Thank You to those of you who took the time, effort and expense to come here legally. *YOU* are an integral part of the fabric that makes up American society and are what America is all about.



Second..

Did you know felons have all citizenship rights revoked when they are incarcerated and those rights are not restored until parole is completed? That's right, some poor soul who was unlucky enough to be caught with a couple ounces of pot to share with his friends at a party has less rights than an II that illegally entered our country and became a felon here (making them a felon in both countries). How fucked up is that!?!?



In the name of full disclosure, let me say that I am currently being sued by an II for what could amount to $10,000, or it could be a $1,000,000. From the day he heard my name, the plan has been to sue me, get the cash and head back home to live like a king... and you know what? He's going to win.

Blah. Rainy, dreary day

Breathing

Still alive, still on the lake. Down one eye (it's a long story, one worthy of it's own blog post). Doing a lot of poor man's traveling.. camping and such. If you read this, let me know. I'm mainly posting just to keep the account active. I'm contemplating starting my posting again, but have reservations about it until after some legal proceedings have been completed.

Hope y'all are doing well.