Are There Jobs That Can't Be Outsourced?

[onpatrol98]

Introduction

With the unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent for 16 months, and likely to remain that way into next year, new college graduates and those laid-off in the recession will not have good news for a while.

What's left of manufacturing is moving overseas, including green industries. Construction jobs have dried up. And even in sectors that require highly skilled labor like technology and lawyering, jobs are increasingly outsourced to China or India.

If so many kinds of jobs are being moved or cut, what skills should American workers develop that will have staying power? Is there any sector that can't easily be outsourced? Or is this less a question of skills development but rather a question of labor policies and employment structure in the U.S.?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/09/13/are-there-jobs-that-cant-be-outsourced?hp

[Orrex]

1. Prostitution

[Ian David]

3. We're all going to be reduced to selling trinkets to foreign tourists getting off cruise ships. n/t

[onpatrol98]

6. You know what....

What can't be outsourced is "insourced"? You find that "one" career they can't ship overseas and they'll bring in people from other places to do cheaper.

Sex trafficking is quite the business now.


....and Americans will play enough violins that we'll be marching in the street for more of it. We have no sense of self preservation or survival.

[Orrex]

9. Absolutely true--I thought about that when I posted.

And you're 100% correct that the "insourcing" is already going on, in that industry and in quite a few others.

[madokie]

35. And my chances are slim and none of cornering any customers

[Orrex]

67. With a pessimistic attitude like that, I'm not surprised.

You got to sell it, mister!

[madokie]

103. Do you do sarcasm?

tongue in cheek maybe?

[Orrex]

104. Yup! Do you?

And where you put your tongue is none of my business.

[DiverDave]

2. I'd like to see them outsource mine, I drive a truck

they can and do get foregn workers but way too few to help.
If you can, get your CDL.

I don't make alot of money, but enough , barely...

[Edweird]

4. Sure, but they attack those with illegal immigration and H1B's.

They have all the bases covered.

[Touchdown]

5. News reporters and elected officials

Convenient, isn't it?

[onpatrol98]

10. LOL

Give it enough time...it's coming. Well, at least with news reporters. We're stuck with elected officials, though. Good point.

[Brickbat]

17. Reporters can be, absolutely.

Or at least made redundant. Ever heard of a citizen journalist? Also, some newspaper conglomerates are looking into copy-editing farms in India to do editing and page design.

[Touchdown]

72. NObody is going to listen to a Hannity wannabe with a Punjabi accent.

Citizen journalists are not what I'm talking about. How many of them pull in six or seven figures a year?

[Brickbat]

81. I don't consider talking heads on television "reporters."

But I can assure you a lot of $25K-$45K reporters and editors are losing their jobs, and are having to compete with writers and editors overseas.

[Touchdown]

93. Ah! But the elected officials do.

And they have such a high opinion of themselves, that they also consider themselves journalists. Just ask Bill O'Really.

I'm not saying it's right, but on air personalities, news readers, journalists, talking heads, propagandists, whatever you want to call them, aren't going to lose their jobs any time soon.

[zipplewrath]

7. Many

Nursing
Pool cleaning
Lawn Maintenance
Plumbing
Roofing
Septic Tank Cleaning
dental hygienist

[onpatrol98]

40. Insourced

People can be brought in to undercut the existing labor force. Let's face. America is out to kill its labor supply. Shucks... and are for every group on your list...well, except that septic tank cleaning one. That one may be a good one.

And, nursing...the higher level nursing jobs are a good point. Unfortunately, if you create a situation where entry level jobs are taken up by people brought in from other places, you can't get the experience you need to move into those higher positions.

[zipplewrath]

45. Different topic entirely

Outsourcing is putting those jobs outside of the country. In sourcing is about keeping them here, and importing the labor here, under US laws, to do the work here, for US based wages. It can be a way to drive down the cost of labor by swamping the market with cheap labor. That's still better than, and a different problem from, outsourcing the job to countries and markets with little if any labor protections.

[onpatrol98]

55. I'm just musing...

I know what you mean. But, I'm just musing. When you have to sit down and discuss vocational planning with your kids, you're forced to realize what a tough place we're leaving them. We've killed their job market. Greed is killing a lot of the potential jobs and good salaries our kids would have and we're not doing anything about it.

If you're considering being in a field that's drying up for you because you've enjoyed (as a country) a higher cost of living, what do you do? Is this something new for Americans? Should we be considering...MIGRATING.

[zipplewrath]

60. Self Employed

Not necessarily truly self employed, but working in a "small business" where you can get a "cut" of the business in some sense. Makes it a tad hard to lay you off when you are practically one of the owners.

[pitohui]

78. self employed means long periods of no pay and you never get "benefits"

self employed for decades here, you don't want your child to be self employed, you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy

when the economy is bad, who doesn't get paid? that's right, the contractor, that self-employed person

when the economy is good and at least you're working, you still can't get health insurance unless you're v. young because it just costs too much, you can't get paid vacation from your employer, if you do take a vacation it comes right out of your pocket

self employed is working 80 hours a week and most of the time never getting above water

most small businesses owned by real people are modern slavery or they're broke

as a self employed person, i have spent too much of my life not getting paid, suing people to get paid, and having people get out of paying me by going bankrupt-- AND I WAS WORKING WITH OTHER BUSINESSES

try being self employed and say cutting someone's lawn and you might as well just kill yourself right now, it's no life at all

[zipplewrath]

92. I was thinking more of professionally

Doctor, lawyer, engineer, mental health counselor. Easily half my friends are self employed to some extent (partners in a firm, that kind of thing). None of them are in the position you describe. One of them fortunately was offered a partnership about a year before the collapse. Since then they have laid everyone off except the partners. If he hadn't been a partner, he'd be gone.

[BonnieJW]

62. In other words, service jobs.

We need service HERE so the jobs have to be here. I work for an industry that can't be outsourced - mission critical solutions. Data centers: design, construction, maintenance, staffing. It has to be here. Unless the client wants the data center somewhere else in which case we go THERE. Not too many companies offer everything we do. If you have a chance to get training, go into facilities maintenance. HVAC, electrical, mechanical, generators. We are constantly searching for these people; there aren't a lot of them out there.

[Yavin4]

66. Wrong. A Small Business Owner Can Easily Be Laid Off

Your creditors can call in their loan. Or cut you off from getting any more credit. It's a common mis-percetion that small business owners are immune to layoffs.

[pitohui]

83. they don't lay you off, they just stop paying you

let me think how many times did a client honestly tell me he was on the verge of bankruptcy and couldn't pay me and that i should quit doing a job for him?

um, let me think

that's right

NEVER

as a self employed person it's WORSE then being laid off, you do the work and when you try to collect the pay, you get fucked a very decent percentage of the time, esp. in a bad economy

if you try to get paid up front then guess what they won't give you the job


if you have some serious issue in your past and you can't get hired for a job, you have no choice but to be self employed but it is not something an intelligent person would choose for themselves...ever wonder why so many building contractors are pretty shady individuals? with their sociopathic skills, if they didn't have felonies or DUIs or whatever in their histories, they'd probably have jobs in some sales office making just as much or more money at no personal financial risk...self-employment is something forced upon you

[SoCalDem]

8. Plumbers come to mind

:)

[onpatrol98]

11. Not so

My cousin was bragging not to long ago about her wonderful contractor and even the plumber. The contractor (boot leg) was legal, but the plumber was not.

[SoCalDem]

18. When you have a clogged drain, you don't call India to have then send out a guy to fix it

:evilgrin:

[onpatrol98]

34. Nope...but the local Home Depot has a few guys standing in front that say they can...

Typically cheaper...(although, you can't always find them if you need something else fixed later)

[SoCalDem]

36. Outsourced, to ME, means a job that is sent to a different LOCATION

Undercutting (for cost reduction) has always happened . People have always looked for the "best price" on repairs etc., and there are always people who claim that they can do whatever..at a lower price:)

[pitohui]

85. well then you're missing the point of the original post

i believe the person wants to know if there is a job they can actually train for, where after spending years of one's life on apprenticeships/study and also a buttload of money on an education, they will end up with something besides uncertainty and debt

if i spent 3 years as an apprentice plumber and i can't get work because the contractors are picking up guys from guatemala in front of home depot every morning instead of a licensed plumber...it doesn't matter to me that guatemala came to louisiana rather than phoning it in...i'm still out a big investment in time and money

a lot of women went into nursing spending a lot of time and money to get that degree...and now they're flying in cheap nurses from the phillipines

that's the issue, not nit picking over whether or not the job is "outsourced" to whatever location

[Brickbat]

20. I'd say outsourcing is when the work goes to other countries; wage depression is when someone will

underbid work here. Which is more what your example is.

[raccoon]

12. Welding, plumber, electrician, garbage collector.

I read the article and what it says sure hasn't been my experience/observation.

[AngryAmish]

33. Welder and garbage collector will soon be mostly robotic

I am a one note band on this robotic thing, but many jobs will be replaced by robots very soon. One man garbage truck with an AI picking up the garbage can, with joystick control for driver. Or remote control joystick if the truck is driving itself.

Most (or a lot) welding in manufacturing is already robotic.

Truck driving, airplane flying will soon be robotic.

Plumbing: I can see humans doing most of that for a long, long time.

Medical expert systems already are better at diagnosis and treatment than most doctors.

Lawyers? Soon to be roboticized. Look up LegalZoom: a robot is doing that.

[TroglodyteScholar]

13. Technical writing for the federal govt

I used to do aircraft maintenance manuals for the USAF Pretty sure that'll stick around...

[onpatrol98]

21. You'll love this...

http://www.outsourcing.org/Directory/Writing_Editing/Technical_Writing/


http://www.confai.com/
"Technical writers from India"

You can't tell from the website though.

[tilsammans]

64. My techwriting job was eliminated . . .

. . . this does not bode well for my finding another. :banghead:

Unless, perhaps, I move to India.

[TroglodyteScholar]

82. You anywhere near southeast Wisconsin?

My former company (a tech data services provider) is looking to fill the position I vacated when our customer direct hired me recently (not a military customer like I mentioned elsewhere in the thread). I understand there are two other tech writing positions on top of that. Feel free to PM if you want more info.

Anyway, I'm not convinced that tech writing in the USA is dying--on the contrary, I'm pretty sure it's on it's way up. The systems being used currently are really revolutionizing the way tech data is managed and presented to the user. Keep your eyes peeled--the work is out there.

[tilsammans]

105. Thanks so much for your offer and encouragement!

I just PMed you. :hi:

Overall, things are looking better in the job market lately, and what you said is encouraging. :yourock:

[TroglodyteScholar]

73. Send your tech writing needs over to India and see what you get back...

...I've seen it, and it's even worse than the work they're doing at call centers. Technical illustration, though, they can do pretty well.

However, the DoD has a ridiculous amount of work that they'd rather not send overseas, hint hint nudge nudge, if you know what I mean. Not a lot of point having the most advanced military systems if you're willing to share the documentation.

[Brickbat]

23. There are tons of writers in India who can't wait to barf up words for the low low price of $5 an

hour. Technical writing might cost a bit extra, but I can guarantee you it's cheaper than tech writers here. I'm bidding against them constantly and it's a g.d. nightmare.

[TroglodyteScholar]

74. Sure, they bid low.

You get exactly what you pay for.

[pitohui]

86. it's sure pretty to think so

but english is one of the languages of india and, believe it or not, when you are competing with a talent pool of over 1 billion people, some of them probably can do the job just as better or "more better" than you, no offense

we used to claim that cars made in japan were shit too, "you get what you pay for" and we all know how that turned out

the world is FULL of smart motivated people looking to improve themselves and to kid ourselves about that fact is not being real

i can sniff and say "i write better than he does" all i like, but it won't make the pie higher, that's for sure

besides, there are lots of situations where honestly the job done a little cheaper is more important than the job done a little better

[TroglodyteScholar]

91. Thanks for the unnecessary condescension, and...

...the false comparison with Japanese autos is great and all. But aside from that, you seem not to know what you're talking about.

Technical writing today involves a skill set far beyond having a command of the language you're writing in. We manage huge volumes of data, make sense of it, and use some pretty complicated systems to publish in all the various ways that are required. Oh yea, and we write.

I like your passion--don't get me wrong. I'd just prefer you use it a) without insulting me and b) on a topic with which you have more than a passing familiarity.

[Recursion]

26. Woo-hoo!

That's my gig.

[TroglodyteScholar]

75. Used to be mine also.

I worked for a contractor to the USAF--had a TON of responsibility and NO actual authority. Basically, the civil servants who were ultimately responsible for the program I worked under would give me cart blanche. However, the other civil servants on whom I depended to know and do their shit...well, I got tired of kissing their asses pretty quickly. A lot of good guys in the group, but some real unflushable turds as well.

But I can say with certainty that I was seeing shit we wouldn't just hand over to Indian companies. Governments pay big $$$$$$$$$$ for that kind of information.

[spinbaby]

100. Yep, that takes a native English speaker

Manuals written overseas are downright comical.

[supernova]

14. Healthcare comes to mind

It's something that must be done onsite and not remotely for the most part.

My fiancee mentioned physician assistant school to me over the weekend since I'm having no luck whatsoever getting another contract as a technical writer. I'm half-way considering it too.

[Dappleganger]

25. However, there is analysis being outsourced.

Radiology reports, lab reports, MRI reports, etc.--all are opening up to out of country doctors BIG TIME. Anything which can be read over the internet is being outsourced.

[Codeine]

27. Not to mention cheap labor being imported

for lower-level nursing jobs.

[supernova]

65. Aware of that trend

I'm very nervous about it to tell you the truth. But what I was getting at was the actual patient care part. You can't look after someone remotely as an inpatient.

Also the SO and I have discussed the possibility of "retiring" outside this country in another 25-30 years. Healthcare would be a skill I could conceivably transfer to a new community.

[Edweird]

38. Actually there is 'outsourcing' or 'offshoring' if you consider people that travel for medical care

that they otherwise could not afford here in the US.

[onpatrol98]

58. Excellent Point!

[Brickbat]

15. Transportation and on-site construction, some health care...

[McCamy Taylor]

16. Defense industry, health care, educators, firefighters, police. Health care best bet of these.

With 20-30 million more Americans due to get health insurance in the next couple of years, a hands on health care profession like nursing, physical therapy is a good choice. If you have a little more time for your degree, pharmacist and primary care physician should see increased demand. Physician extenders like nurse practitioners and PA should also be in high demand.

[onpatrol98]

31. Nope...I don't think this will work

For me the key is...can it not be outsourced or insourced? I imagine, really, nothing is immune. Is it cheaper to send your job overseas or bring people in to undercut the workforce.

The health care profession is having that issue now. Even teachers are being "insourced".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Sets of Victims in the Latest H-1B Scandal
By David North, August 6, 2010

A group of about 350 H-1B teachers from the Philippines, working in Louisiana, have been badly exploited by a recruiting agency, according to a recent article in USA Today.

I sense that there was not one, but three sets of victims of this scheme.

It is inevitable that as long as the government loosely manages its numerous guestworker programs, stories like this will appear, and they will reveal mere tips of the proverbial icebergs. In this instance "it was close to slavery," according to the lawyers bringing the case. The teachers were "charged exorbitant application fees, and transportation and housing costs" and had to pay up to 30 percent of their salaries to middlemen their first two years, according to the report.

http://www.cis.org/north/h1b-teachers-scandal

[Dappleganger]

19. Cosmetologists...

our daughter is in cosmetology school. She loves to work with her hands, is artistic and this is what she wants to do. My aunt made a decent living owning her own shop and doing hair will never be shipped overseas! Of course it commands long hours on the feet, little to no benefits but so many jobs have not much else to offer. At least she knows what she wants to do with her life and won't be in debt when she starts out.

[onpatrol98]

28. Good One!

Maybe that's a good one.

[gratuitous]

22. Apparently sitcom producers

Because NBC is set to begin a new "must see TV" sitcom called "Outsourcing," which bodes to do for folks laid off by greedy employers what "Hogan's Heroes" did for Nazi POW camps. Watch as the grinding effect of losing your job to someone who will do it worse for less money is turned into rib-tickling hilarity!

Now, if certain sitcom producers and writers could be outsourced, that might make a funny scenario. Or at least, a show depicting out of work producers and writers watching an outsourced show become a hit; why should working people have all the fun? Let's see some "creative" types smacked around by greed, too.

[Lance_Boyle]

71. 'snot new - it's borrowed from Britain, like most good TV.

Season One has been on Netflix on Demand for a while now.

[Recursion]

24. Outsourced? No. Offshored? Yes NT

[flvegan]

29. Doctors and lawyers.

[onpatrol98]

32. Lawyers...good point! Doctors...nope

Insourcing already taking place there...

Doctors come in on H1B visas...then again, Lawyers are on that list too.

[DainBramaged]

30. If corporations keep exporting jobs one day there won't be anyone here to buy their products

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9126692

[zipplewrath]

48. Krugman points out some realities on that

Many of the largest companies don't "need" the US market anymore. China, India, and Brazil are responsible for huge portions of the consumer markets now. GM sold more cars in China than in the US. We are rapidly getting to a place where the major multinationals don't care that "we" can't buy their products. And that includes such brands as Coca-Cola and McDonalds.

[onpatrol98]

52. True...

That is so true. I was listening to economists suggest that the markets to be in were definitely China...but now India and Brazil. They have the largest growing middle class. 1) Their middle class is growing; and 2) Their sheer numbers are so impressive that America is simply not going to be the "goto" market forever.

So, they don't want our labor...we're too expensive. And, eventually, they won't need us to buy their products. We were expendable long before we realized it.

[Yavin4]

68. That Is Until The Citizenry In These Nations Get Wise To The Scam

Then these large companies are gonna want the U.S. military to suppress any uprising.

[Populist_Prole]

37. Even if not offshorable jobs can be "cheapened"

One's skills and labors have been, and can be marginalized through Taylorism and the like. Jobs requiring certain skills and certification requirements aren't secure either. Industries are more than willing to lobby for more favorable ( de ) regulations that would allow the same tasks to be performed by lesser skilled people.

[onpatrol98]

41. Good point..

[lonestarnot]

39. Well fishermen in NO had one, but they managed to kill the gulf of any of its ocean dwelling

creatures, so there went that.

[onpatrol98]

42. Good point

[notadmblnd]

43. Skills that require them to actually put their hands on something

Repair of computers, HVAC, Technical machines. Unskilled- garbage collectors, cashier, houscleaning.

[onpatrol98]

49. Maybe HVAC

The others are having salaries undercut by companies bring in cheaper labor by any means necessary. I think the goal must be to lower the standard of living for Americans so that we'll take the lowest pay possible. The truth is...if a warm body can be found outside of America to do your job cheaper, companies will do whatever it takes to bring them in.

On the coast after Katrina, companies built apartments for immigrants to live in. They treated them horribly. But, it was still cheaper than paying Americans. That's how low they were able to take the salaries. Who were they hiring? Construction workers, electricians, plumbers, etc. Now, there are nightmare stories about the quality of work and abuse of workers. But, the cost of labor was key. My point is...they wouldn't build apartments for people already here and willing to work, but needing housing. Americans still expected a higher salary.

But, if they can drive down salaries, we'll eventually take whatever they have to offer. Then, the outsourcing and insourcing will stop. It's about undercutting wages. It always has been.

[ejpoeta]

44. service jobs. my husband fixes cash registers, atms and other machines

for the company he works for. hard to outsource those.

[lonestarnot]

46. Natural gas pipeline fixers.

[pipi_k]

47. Dog poo picker-upper

My two dogs alone could make someone a good income.

[onpatrol98]

50. LOL

You win!

[austin78704]

98. In a similar vein

Bullshit shoveler.

Fox "news" is always hiring.

[mike r]

51. Funeral directors

and hearse drivers.

[onpatrol98]

53. Excellent Point!

I think those are safe jobs.

[Greybnk48]

54. Mortician/crematorium operator.

[LiberalArkie]

56. The really safe jobs will never be high paying, but may be secure.

I remember my mom telling me of this maid at a rich oil man's house where I used to live. The depression hit and the oil people lost everything. The maid had been putting her money in her mattress. The oil people had been investing theirs.
The maid purchased the 3 story home for back taxes.

My mom told me that down here in the south, that it was mainly the wealthy and those who played the money game are the ones who lost the most.

The plumbers, repairmen etc who were just getting along, not trying to be wealthy, who lived within their means, came out alright.


I think the same goes for the employment situation, when you are close to the bottom a person seems to keep their job.

[Cleita]

57. I live in a vacation area and the resort businesses like

hotels, restaurants, beach rentals etc. can't be outsourced. However, if the people who spend money here on weekends and summer vacations don't have jobs, those businesses suffer and they cut down their labor force or even go out of business leaving many jobless. Those workers who did spend money at markets and big box stores like Wal-Mart don't spend so it causes those peripheral businesses to lay off workers too or go out of business. There is no win, win here.

[onpatrol98]

59. Should we consider migrating?

Should we consider migrating to other countries? Has anyone considered? Where would you go?

[BonnieJW]

63. I would definitely consider it.

I've heard South America is good but I think there's too much crime and unstable government. I would like to move to British Columbia. Nice weather and plenty of golf for my hubby. I don't think it's easy to imigrate to Canada anymore, though.

[Cleita]

69. Maybe, if things don't improve younger families should

think about it. Europeans did for centuries because their societies were stagnant and heartless to the poor.

[spin]

61. Manufacturing jobs in the military industrial complex that require ...

security clearances are hard to outsource.

[lumberjack_jeff]

70. Sure, but none that you'd enjoy doing. n/t

[mmonk]

76. Congress.

[pitohui]

77. no-- theyre importing nurses and teachers from the philipines in new orleans

i think it's v. well documented that most contractors preferred to use illegal labor from mexico here after hurricane katrina, rather than give a local man (if that local man be black) the job

we are told "health care" but after you spend a lot of $ getting an education in health care they are importing nurses from the philipines

all you get by training for a career is more debt

ANY job that is perceived to benefit working class/middle class is being systematically taken away, i can only conclude that the very wealthy do not see a benefit in having a stable working class/middle class

ANY job can either be outsourced or the cheap laborer can be imported here, either way, the local person who has to pay bills in america is utterly fucked

[ProgressiveEconomist]

79. Can corporations import workers for big projects here and pay them, say, $10 a day

back where they came from?

Unless there's some legal barrier to doing so, greedy corporations could house them in dormitories for the length of the project and displace hundreds of Americans who'd demand a living wage here in the US.

Has anyone heard of such a project? Does US law bar such practices? IMO, if it doesn't, it should be amended to prevent the possibility.

[datasuspect]

80. prison labor?

[NMMNG]

84. Caregiver jobs, health care

There are millions of elderly, sick, disabled and other people who need support services. That cannot be outsourced to people in India, China or Bangladesh. Those jobs must be done by people right here in America. One drawback is that many of those jobs pay very little. Sadly while human life is precious and the jobs are essential, they're not highly valued.

[pitohui]

88. they're importing cheap labor to fill those jobs

now if you're talking abt the individual little old lady hiring someone to look after her, well, in america who can afford that other than the wealthy few? our own salaries were not high enough nor is social security high enough to be able to pay for that, there's nothing left over after you pay the food, utilities, property tax, etc.

hospitals etc. will just import cheap nurses from overseas, they're already doing it

[NMMNG]

90. I wasn't going to mention that part

I didn't want to get into a racial/ethnic battle here but....

I can't speak for nursing, but the direct care field (working with people who have disabilities, nursing homes, home care agencies for elders, etc) is full of minority staff, including many who are not native to the US. Of course it's also full of women. The low pay is a major factor in this. Minorities, immigrants and women are always predominant in the low-paid service sector jobs.



Employers (like hospitals) will indeed recruit overseas at times when they can't fill jobs with American applicants. Of course the RRRWers like to claim that "them foreigners" are taking our jobs, but the reality is that typical Americans can't live on what these jobs offer. Nobody can raise a family on what the average caregiver job pays. I worked as many as 90 hours/week at two full time jobs (or one job with massive overtime) to stay afloat. I've witnessed caregivers with children (I have none, by choice) who needed public assistance so their children could have food and medical care. It shouldn't be this way.

[Sapphocrat]

102. Importing from overseas, yes, BUT...

...only, as I understand it, and at least here in California, because there is (and has been, for far too long) a crippling shortage of nurses, RNs & LVNs alike -- not because hospitals are trying to undercut the nurses' union, but because there just aren't enough nurses.

I've had this conversation with many nurses (friends, hospital nurses who've taken care of my mom, even an ex-lover of mine who was a LVN), offered my opinion, and asked if I was wrong. Not a one ever corrected my impression. Is there something I'm missing?

BTW, my sister's http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/cover/1998_May_6.COVER4.html">ex-MIL (yes, that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Kleiner">Rose Kleiner -- whom I knew, respected, and for the care she personally oversaw for my grandma, loved for many years) began a non-profit for "little old ladies" (and little old men) who needed someone to look after them, but who didn't yet have one foot in the grave. Very few came even close to being "wealthy." The Kleiners perspired money, but Rose's clients didn't.

Not ragging on you, pitohui -- just telling you that everyone's situation is different, and that it may be unwise to make assumptions.

And to characterize "imported" nurses as "cheap" is doing a grave disservice to those nurses, who must jump through hoops to qualify for hospital or private-duty work in the U.S. I hope you did not mean "cheap" as in "not as good as."

[me b zola]

87. "Do you want fries with that burger?"

"May I help you with your bags?" "May I park your car for you?"


We'll all be fighting over low-paying service jobs to serve those few with money/means.

[Ruby the Liberal]

89. Service Jobs - Police, Firefighters, Wait Staff, Nursing

I'd like to see them try to outsource a bartender. :D

[scarletlib]

94. plumbing

when your toilet is backed up or the septic tank has overflowed your not going to get some guy over in India for a repair. You need it done as soon as possible.

[provis99]

95. I almost put the Army, but that's being outsourced and insourced, too.

Outsourced to mercenary outfits, and insourced by promising foreigners who join the army instant citizenship. Just like the roman empire did in its declining years.

[rug]

96. Gravediggers.

[austin78704]

97. Truck Mechanic

I was at one time a computer science student and budding software programmer, but I saw that bomb ticking. So, plan B: pick a trade that's indispensable (and not prostitution) and hunker down until the shitstorm ends.

I had the audacity of hunkering.

[Stinky The Clown]

99. Prison guards

[hack89]

101. Anything requiring a security clearance.

A Top Secret clearance is worth its weight in gold.