Fri
Oct
10
2008
Breaking away...
Originally posted circa 2004
Many economists describing today’s economy suggest the recent trend of outsourcing jobs overseas is resulting in job losses the American’s should not expect to regain. In other words: a “jobless recovery”. Many currently unemployed Americans expect increasingly higher paying jobs that support the high standards of living we are all accustomed to as American citizens. The current situation is unfavorable and the outlook for change to a climate Americans are accustomed is precarious.
It is easy to suggest that this trend coupled with the demographic changes indicated by a GAO report represent a clear and present danger to the government of the United States. A decreasing tax base is criminal in the government’s eyes. How, with present day deficits exceeding $600 billion, can the government expect to fund their nefarious ways? They will tax and print money. The hardships of which can be tolerated for only so long. But its citizens will be treated like criminals in the near future under a faltering economy.
Indirect refutation of Rumsfeld’s budgetary remarks, which stated that President Bush’s $87 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan represented an affordable and needed investment in international security”, by the GAO further highlights the current occupiers of the U.S. administration irresponsibility. This administration is responsible for one of the largest expansions of government and spending in history. As usual they blame anything else like the war on terror, the current economic slump (that government is responsible for), or perhaps the weather for the expansion of the deficit.
In addition, our projected budget deficits are not manageable without significant changes in status quo programs, policies, processes and operations.
That statement was taken from a GAO report September 17, 2003. Clearly a government out of control that does not respect its own expert advise from people who are paid extremely well to analyze the budget numbers and who by their occupation are accountants or even analysts at the CIA and FBI who produce intelligence reports the administration also neglected.
This disrespect for the American people and the ‘American Way’ will force the American people into action they would not otherwise do. As living standards decrease and the government continues its desperate struggle to cling to power the American people will be forced to make hard decisions those in government will not do. Remember, the current administration will be out of office by the time these tough decisions come about. The government’s abuse of power will levy on the American people a burden that is unprecedented. It’s a clear and present danger to the viability of the United States government.
We may be witnessing the final desperate acts of the government rulers who in the last hours clinging to life will resort to despicable actions to survive. It will be futile. A technological revolution will occur the government did not see and did not expect. It will be a revolution without arms but a revolution indeed.
The American people to be sure did not see it either. But it will be delivered to them as if it was manna from heaven. Just as the exodus of jobs is occurring present day, so to will people tomorrow. However it will be more of a virtual exodus. People will be more willing to drop their predilections of patriotism, citizenry, and basically identifying oneself with a nationality.
In order to understand this, consider the notion of the nation state. The nation state evolved in order to gather power and replace the church structure that existed before it. We stand at the end of the nation state era. Just as power was collected by the nation state as it replaced the church, so too will power be collected away from the nation state as people become more powerful than government! The evidence is becoming more apparent. Look around at the emerging technologies. Most new technologies are liberating at an individual scale. As research is increasingly directed at the subatomic or quantum level, specifically what nanotechnology promises to deliver, we will see even more liberating technology. Consider peer-to-peer networking or distributed and neural networks. The collection of such computing power can far surpass anything that one single government can procure. The threat peer-to-peer technology poses while at its infancy indicates how the individual can become more sovereign. The Chief Operating Officer of Symantec, John Schwarz, called for “laws to make it a criminal offense to share information and tools online which could be used by malicious hackers and virus writers”, that is draconian. But the kind of legislation that would be considered in desperate times.
Furthermore people are increasingly telecommuting from home. Tomorrow people will realize home can be anywhere. Anywhere in the globe that does not tax its citizens into bankruptcy. Consider electronic communications and commerce. These are things governments cannot control. Encryption technology is cheap. It renders massive eavesdropping systems like echelon or carnivore useless. These are the same factors, the devolution of power and evolution of technology that contributed to a liberated Russia. At least it was a greater factor in the ‘eonomic’ demise of the Soviet Union more so than Reagan shouting to Gorbachev to ‘tear down that wall’. Just as Russia, its paternal twin deceased so to will ‘Democracy’ in the U.S.
Politics is dead. It has outlived its usefulness and was only a tool or artifice for the power the nation state enjoyed. Consider American political debate. Two parties comprised of pundits and proponents dominate it. It is clear the majority of Americans recognize it for what it is; yet the pundits and proponents decry or insult our common sense for not voting or participating in this fraud. For the people who understand this it is laughable, for those who understand this and still run for office that are not entirely ignorant it should be reprehensible.
Moreover the death of politics is apparent given present day election outcomes most notably with 2000. The dishonest face of politics was revealed again when the court anointed Bush as president, not because they did but look at the 5 to 4 split down party lines decision. Furthermore, consider the recall in California, and the close elections around the nation. The pundits never accurately predict and their analysis is always biased. It is a charade. It is expected, as the new era rushes in they will all simply go away. As it is no longer profitable to be a Republican or Democrat these careers and people will simply disappear.
Consider the target market for the Republicans. These pundits boast of a fan base that are ‘buyers’ of their product, inadvertently admitting what they offer is nothing more than a commodity, packaged and fit for public consumption. All the personalities parade on the usual talk shows passing off their book as if they are writers and authors. Bill Bennett made enough money to blow eight million dollars on slot machines as an example. Why networks bother to call for his commentary is surprising.
As the market goes away these pundits will find new careers. National pride and vanity will be overcome, easily; the opposition is from groups that exercised power in the disingenuous partnerships engendered during the time of federal government power that benefited primarily the ruling classes.
This too will be overcome simply from the masses that, formerly comforted with the living standards enjoyed during the time of technical dominance, will not acquiesce in a state of affairs resulting in lower living standards.
By recognizing that Congress is more of an impediment to the general welfare than an expression of rights, the transition of society into the information age will require new institutions to reflect the common interests of society as the current governments still reflect the societal thought of the last few centuries.
The decision is simple. Would you leave America for millions of dollars? As the government’s tax base decreases with a responsibility for all the liabilities which will total ten’s of trillions of dollars, how does it expect to pay them or float a deficit? Better question is how does it expect to survive. In the meantime to escape the economic malaise, Americans, liberated by technology would leave America to escape increasing taxation because millions of dollars is just what it might cost to stay in America.
Today the jobs are leaving America, hence, the “jobless recovery”. Businesses are finding the only way to cut costs and improve the bottom line is to outsource as much as they can. But tomorrow what are they going to do. Here we are considering whether the glass is half full or half empty. What I expect business to do tomorrow is to revolutionize and fully participate in the technological revolution very similar to the industrial revolution years ago. This will finally be the death nail to the nation state. Just as businesses today outsource to other businesses in other countries, they will outsource to individuals tomorrow in order to improve their bottom line. Clearly, today a job is something we have. Tomorrow as we live increasingly infocentric lives jobs will be something we do. This may be difficult to imagine but consider the use of email today. This is by far the most utilized task we have computers for and the only thing most people are capable making their computers do. As email evolves the system will improve to where adopting similar technology to spam, where your inbox is cluttered with junk mail forcing many people to pay for anti-spam technology, your inbox will be filled with jobs to do. For example the inbox will most likely be cluttered with lower paying jobs or tasks and fewer higher paying ones. As the flow of information is instantaneous a system similar to eBay perhaps will openly resolve these market place decisions. Truly a free market system can be enjoyed. These tasks meanwhile can be accomplished anywhere. Nanotechnology and the Internet not of today but tomorrow will enable this. Businesses will not have employees at all.
By outsourcing political fund raising to companies in India the Republican Party and its leading officials act in a capacity that ignores their constituents except domestically during election time as a tool to stay in power. The government to a lesser extent than private companies and wealthy individuals are enjoying some of the benefits of globalization. Exactly how the new era will change the way governments work may not be clear but there will be an impact. The White House for example can be anywhere in the world, virtually. This may seem unimaginable or unlikely but unimaginable is what will occur in the new era. What is more likely is that the nation states will simply dissolve as the new economics take over. Economics has always been at the core of the political process but as it has been clear to classical liberal economists that government was used to engender dishonest business relationships to benefit primarily those in government and the owners of whatever monopoly was strengthened or the business itself, it will be even clearer to those with the economic power that government will not even be useful to them and viewed as the impediment it really is and always was to the free market process. By retaining the power and cutting government out of the relationship the new economics will most likely take hold and supplant the nation state.
Keep in mind it is simply our predilection with the trappings of a nation state such as a national language and the familial enticements such as ‘Uncle Sam’ that continue to contribute to our awareness and fundamental need that instinctively compels us to demand a national government which was only a subterfuge in its incipiency. A national language is not natural and the government is not a parent. The nation state has to run its course. The only question that remains is who is left standing, or perhaps who left who standing?
The rest of the world is advancing us $1.5 billion a day so we can party with it: buy bigger houses, buy bigger cars, buy cruise missiles, an economist noted. At some point they may start to wonder how we’re going to pay them back.
All industrialized nations are running massive debts. The leading of course is the United States. All debts will be liquidated. They can’t economically forecast past today. We just left the 90’s when times were supposedly good economically, and today they attribute the nation’s budget deficits to the weather, to terrorism, to irrational exuberance, to whatever. Recently, the OMB has fore casted a budget surplus around $800 million over the next 10 years or so, if this doesn’t happen what are they going to attribute it to tomorrow?
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the Public Treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with a result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. — Alexander Tytler
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/npc917.pdf
HEADLINES ON OUTSOURCING:
http://www.workindex.com/hrexecutive/head3.asp
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/business/6395778.htm
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/arti…,1086306,00.asp
http://www.campaignforlaborrights.o…x/aug03/5-3.htm
http://www.msnbc.com/news/946725.asp?cp1=1
http://www.net-security.org/news.php?id=3571
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