Globalization

Since globalization is a national and regional process of change, which affects everyone it is not enough to address it from the view of one person or one part of the country. To tell a proper account of how globalization has personally affected my life would be incomplete without telling how it has also touched the lives of my friends and family. I say this because we are all in this life together, and what affects one affects us all. The stories I gathered are still limited since I do not have family who live all around the globe, however I called and talked to friends who live in Canada as well as family from different parts of the United States. At first, I found that the people I asked did not fully understand exactly what globalization was so I had to tell them that the products they buy from electronics to their clothing are now manufactured in different parts of the world, and that was globalization. Out sourcing of jobs, and the fact that when they call a customer service number and talk to someone in India or the Philippines that is part of globalization. This started many comments about the illegal immigration problem and how their pay scales had been reduced or frozen because of it. I told them that illegal immigration is a criminal issue and was not really globalization, but it was hard to get them off the subject. Instead I let them talk, knowing that the illegal immigration problem was a major factor even in my life, and just picked a couple of stories out of the bunch. I will start with my story, and try to keep it brief.
I am a 46-year-old veteran that has recently found myself back at school after 28 years of being in the work force. For years, I was a carpenter until I was fired from my job for speaking up against the hiring of illegal immigrants in the construction industry. Fairly intelligent I was able to find a new job as a mechanist with a corporation. This was a good job and I was progressing up on the pay scale until globalization forced layoffs by the company so they could compete in the new global market. These layoffs as many in America snowballed and affected other industries and other hard working Americans as well, causing many to take jobs at lower pay and lose their medical insurance benefits.
When I went to the employment security commission to find a new job the prospects looked grim for finding a job with equal pay and benefits. I was informed there, of a program called the workers initiative act, which was directly attached to the NAFTA program. I thought this was a good program, but because of the way it is set up and the guidelines required to participate it is impossible for many to benefit from. When I say impossible for many I mean people with children still at home and no other way to support their selves without working full time. I was one of the lucky ones, my children were grown and I was able to participate but many of my coworkers from the plant were not.
It is a struggle for me since other than myself I have no help, and must attend school full time while still paying my bills. Every one says globalization is a good thing but try telling that to the single mothers who found their selves in the same position. Many are forced to accept jobs for minimum wage working 60 and 80 hrs a week just to make ends meet while putting their children on welfare to receive any medical benefits.
I have a friend from Indiana and this is her story, and as do those that follow tells more than one view of globalization and its effects across North America. She says, this is true so please do not laugh. I had a problem with a multi functional printer. I was unable to figure out how to set it up using the manual, because each paragraph was written three times in three different languages. It was apparent that whoever wrote it was not very well educated in the English language. Therefore, I went to the suggested web site for contact information. I called the 800 number; I got someone from another country, India I think. It took me over two hours mostly because I had to keep asking him to repeat something until I finally asked if we could correspond through email. I figured I could understand the written word better and not tie up the business phone. Twenty minutes later, I discovered I needed to download a driver. My point is the service provider for our technical questions, are now in a country whose native language is not the same as ours. A person here, in America, could have helped me in 15 minutes instead of the two hours I spent on the phone trying to talk to someone that did not speak my language well enough to help me. Another time the company I worked for needed someone to write code in dot net and had to search for over a year to find someone. Not because they could not find someone, who could do the job but even if we paid them triple they could not find the time. This was a small company still trying to establish itself, and even though I did find several overseas companies willing and able to take on our project and complete it in a timely fashion at a much lower cost than here, we would have been sending a virtually unprotected, new program that our entire business is based on over the internet. The program remains unfinished and I am out of a job.
This story is from a veteran who has served in Iraq and is currently living at Fort Cambell,, Kentucky. He replies, Glen, given your definition I do not think this falls into it but it should. It is about globalization and the political correctness in the world. I personally hate it, and it bugs the hell out of me to have our beliefs put under a microscope, and scrutinized by third world countries that have no original thoughts, ideas, technologies, education, or sanitation. Yet, they are supposed to be world experts on the United State's moral structure in the world. Please, I do not think so. I do not think we are better than they are, but our religious beliefs are different, and even though we are there to help them, they think we are wrong for not having the same customs and beliefs. What has this Political cowering to the other countries brought to our land then? well, good paying jobs have went the way of the tumble weed, and even though the countries unemployment rate is low the dollar is weaker, and we have allowed ourselves to be bullied so now our resolve is in question and our patience is limited. I could probably go on for a while but I think you see the train of thought I am having. I would rather be locked up in a cabin on the side of a hill somewhere in the middle of nowhere. How has it affected me personally? My jeep cost more than it should have, and so did my house. I went to war and was not allowed to fight the bad guys hiding in mosque, because it might be seen as a religious war even though this caused the death of people I knew and loved as brothers. My sister lost an IT tech job to an overseas company, my brother in-law is fighting what appears to be a losing battle at the automaker he works for because they are being beat out of a market because of better performance and cost.
This is what a friend from Quebec Canada had to say, I work extensively with engineering talent. The company I founded years ago is well known in a small worldwide circle, for its unique technologies, and its ability to implement them. I have had great success in the past, created a niche and rode along with limited competition for years. I am not talking about the steel industry, or commodity manufacturing, we are talking very high technological content process control and robotics, requiring top engineering talent to develop. Yet, we are starting to meet more and more competition from Chinese and Indian syndicates mostly with Western backing and support. I never thought it was going to strike so fast. Therefore, here is a little background, which starts explaining the push.
In 1985, the United States, Canada, and China graduated the same number of students with their first degree in engineering, at approximately 85,000. Now at 75,000 per year, the graduation rate of engineers in the North America is up from the mid-1990's low of 65,000, but far below the more than 200,000 per year, and growing currently seen in both China and India. It is not only the demographics that are calling out for change. Current estimates place the half-life of engineering knowledge, the time interval, in which half of what an engineer knows becomes obsolete at an average estimate of 5 years. Engineering curricular are faced with the challenge of developing students who are learners for life. In addition, the newest technology areas biotechnology, nanotechnology, materials and photonics, information and communications technology, systems engineering, and logistics require bridging disciplines in ways that challenge traditional discipline centered curricula. The message is clear: the time is now to revolutionize the engineering curriculum, so that we are attracting 4 times more graduates, retaining top talent, and producing globally competent and competitive engineers. The alternative is outsourcing engineering in the same manner we have been outsourcing manufacturing jobs of late. We all know there must be a stop to the hemorrhaging.
From a friend in Wisconsin comes this, globalization has as its base the control of money. If the notion is to have a level playing field where everything is equal then certainly globalization can only succeed with the elimination of the power of the middle class in America. How has this affected me? My money buys less these days than it did 40 yrs ago, and there are fewer options in employment now with low paying service industries being dominant, and well paying heavy industry jobs all but gone. Because everything is much more expensive it is required for both parents to work where as 40yrs ago this was an option, and now children are shuffled off to complete strangers at day care facilities instead of being raised by their parents. In my opinion, this has caused the erosion of family values. All volunteer groups from Salvation Army to local churches now have to be political correct in nature rather than just a healthy gathering of people trying to do good for the community. Schools have become factories that conform to a common baseline requirement, which means creativity at any level is an oddity and not the desired norm. Propaganda thru all forms of media has become a 24-hour, seven-day reality. To me globalization is fancy word play to keep the people from realizing that what is really happening is communistic, socialistic, or more correctly a fascist dictatorship. Hold on to your hats folks, it will only get worse.
We are told we must give up our high living standards so that others can have a better one. As Americans our life style is among the highest in the world but in the end our sacrifice will be for the best. We are told we should not complain, because we still have it better than others do. Of course the ones telling us this are not suffering at all, instead they are benefiting from cheaper labor and lower taxes by moving their companies to other countries. My story is only in the third chapter, not finished or the ending written in stone, because living day-to-day and month-to-month make everyday a struggle for me to stay in school. Making dinners at night of Ramen noodles, and hoping the power and phone are not disconnected month to month, as I struggle to pay bills on time. I try to make the best of the situation forced on me by large corporations and a government driven by the money of lobbyists, but it is a constant battle.

I thought you were gonna keep it short

Globalization is "good" for the rich, but horrible for the middle class. If the rich are to get richer they can really only take from the middle class.

It pisses me off when companies justify increasing their prices because of what happened or didn't happen in a country half way around the world. The new world order seems to be in the final stages. Can't wait for their overthrow. We are in an evil time.

That is short!

Didnt the author write from the heart??

Thanks for the "Globalization for Dummies" version...
I agree totally

Cheers Mate

Why thank you!!

That story was wrote with the participation of jsh members!!

They are the friends and knew what the paper was for!
No names were used, but Im sure they will recognize their own stories!

It is for them to identify themselves or not!

I just appreciated their voluntary contributions.

Globalization is good for a technological advancing country. Cheap goods for all consumers and it gets rid of the stone-age jobs and opens up market for more high-tech jobs. We are no longer an industrial country, push them out, and like the government has, offer those unskilled workers who lost their jobs training to advance to skilled work. These once unskilled workers who were paid outrageous wages and given outrageous benefits, mostly due to corrupt unions, will not only get the education and training to get high-tech jobs, but these jobs will offer many more benefits and higher wages. This is very true in the steel industry.

Out of control unions in the steel industry caused outrageous wages and benefits for unskilled factory workers. The company could not achieve profit due to this, workers became overpaid and inefficient, and thus the jobs shut down and went overseas. So, now these workers are out of jobs. If they were smart and took the offer from the government they used granted money from the government to become skilled workers. These now skilled workers became engineers or steel technitions producing high-tech steel that was shipped here and they convert it into the steel that is used in airplanes, ships, and so on. They end up making out in wages, benefits, and dangers on the job are much less.

Globalization will hurt a small portion of society, but it will only do so for as long as that small portion fails to adapt to changes in society. To not allow economic. market and technological change in our society to bring about the possibility for advancement and betterment of all, that would be protectionist, import substitution industrialization that has brought every country down who has tried it. The USSR is the prime example.

We had to rise out of the fabric of an industrial country that we held onto for far too long, and to do so has hurt many, but in the end it will benefit the most. It gives greater opportunities to all.

Globalization is not possible without the balancing of economies!

Since we were on top to begin with, as a nation we have the furthest to fall. After a certain point in this globalization process, the point of no return, we will settle out, as will the rest of the world. We will then find ourselves, somewhere between where we once stood and the bottom. When we reach that point we will never see a reversal in our standard of living or sovereignty again!

To achieve that point, that you seem to be making, somewhere between 'where we once stood and the bottom' (which I don't quite see how that is bad), in order to get there it would take a very very long time for the other global partners to ever catch up to us. And, to catch up to us those global partners are going to have to change their own policies for though asian markets and economies are on the rise as is India's, they have not achieved any direction in military or technological might (besides China military-wise because they stole so much of our own military achievements, thank you Clinton most of all). Even with Japan and South Korea, most technology they achieve has been brought available to them through the US, it is a great mistake to belief that Japan and South Korea have achieved technological successes before we have. It is myth.

It would take decades and a great change in direction of the global partners for them to begin to catch-up. Look at yearly GDP growth and that is a point to start to show just how much they have to go to catch up.

Fanta if you want to read something on the technology front, to go with the points I made in my post, read this: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c6/c6s1.htm


"The latest data, through 2003, show domestic output in high-technology industries continuing to grow faster than output in other manufacturing industries in the United States, flattening in the EU, and declining in Japan. In 2003, high-technology manufactures were estimated to be 34.2% of manufacturing domestic output in the United States, 13.4% in the EU, and 15.7% in Japan." - Sciene and Engineering Indicators 2006 "Chapter 6: Industry, Technology, and the Global Marketplace: U.S. Technology in the Global Marketplace" - http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c6/c6s1.htm

First, I would like to agree that it will take decades to reach that point. I would like to add that it has been happening since the 70's!! We are well on our way! This recession will put us through another stage! We have not seen a recession of this ones likely magnitude since the 70's either! If Im correct it will get pretty bad before it ever gets better!

Second in keeping with an open mind, I will check out your link! Thanks

In 1980, high-technology was 11%

1990 it was ~27%

2003 it is 34.2%

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c6/c6s1.htm#c6s1l2

We are only on the rise. The US economy is changing like I stated. We are moving fully away from industrial and becoming high technology. In that change to advancement it will be chaotic for many, but most will move to the new market and succeed in it greater than ever before. That is coming true more and more and high technology is growing and growing.

With the growth of high tech, exports are increasing more and more. We will balance in time.

What I've read so far does not do anything for the people in this country.

High-technology industries are less than 10% technological research and development, and 90% manufacturing. Taking less skill and training than say a CNC machine operator in a manufacturing plant!
As long as that is the case, then countries with a cheap labor source, is where these companies will locate! For them to come here just means Americas work force must also become "cheap labor!"

I am not worried about me. I will adapt and survive, but I think the intelligent humans of a society should not turn their backs on the less fortunate! They should never forget their raisings.

I also, as a veteran, take the sovereignty of the United States very seriously!!

Respectfully sailor,
I find that sight quite disturbing.
It is a Gov sight, and yet, it is full of globalization Rhetoric, as if it is for us to just accept as a a done deal!!

No company should be bound to a country. To do so would be to tarnish democracy and institute ISI policies.

What you are saying sounds like one of two things, which are quite similar.

You sound like a heavy protectionist that would be quite alright with much higher priced goods being forced on Americans because it would provide jobs to unskilled workers. And, in that, it sounds quite socialist in tone.

So, you would punish the skilled, successful middle and upper classes with higher priced goods because a much smaller population in the US, the unskilled workers, refuse to adapt to the advancing US economy?

To do so would be to cripple the economy, cripple technological advancement, and that would send the country backwards as other countries pressed forwards, eventually passing us as they took in all the technological achievement possibilities we turned away by being protectionist.

Quite disturbing like how you just butchered the english language? lol, playing, I just don't quite know what you meant in that.

That's because you are young and do not realize what we have lost! You have received this globalization programming since you started day-care!

When I was raised we didnt have day-care and we were taught to not believe everything we hear, esp what the gov tells you. Instead we were taught to think for ourselves, and not follow the crowd!
I dont mean to be disrespectful, but that is all I can attribute the acceptance of globalization that is common amongst your generation to!

Things are not better than they were 20 or 30 years ago! There has been a steady decline in wages and living standards in this country. I'm not talking about technological or medical advances that would have occurred anyway! I'm talking about quality of life, Im talking about workers rights, and morals, family values, national pride and morale, freedom, education, etc, etc!

I have enjoyed this pleasant debate, but I have to disagree with your analogy!!!