I, too, do not disagree with you.... But, see, Leah, you're missing the point, as well.... Yes, their management and government (and whomever else!) gets a big part of the few bucks a day that they make. But is that really all that much different from the bribery, corruption, greed, lying and disregard for human ethics (to use your own words) that happens in the US and Canada and Japan and any other "advanced" country...?!? Do we not pay the government thousands of dollars per year (taxes) for the privilege of working...? Do we not "pay" our employers to work for them, simply by accepting whatever salary or wage that they offer to us...? Do our families also sacrifice much to allow children to get a formal education...? And do not many of our own US born and bred workers have some of the same very difficult working and living conditions to consider...?!? Do we not also have thousands and thousands of "professional working adults" that "can only afford to live in a one bedroom apartment with a card table for furniture"...? I know that in My own instance - if it was not for the "luck" I had at finding and being in a position to buy My condo nearly 10 years ago, even at the salary I make now, I certainly would NOT be able to afford to live in My condo.... I would need to have another live with Me in order to be able to afford it.... I live in Southern California - land of the overpriced real estate..... rents for a single apartment - a bachelor, a studio, a single, a single room occupancy - whatever you want to call it - can be 700 bucks a month and above.... up that to a 1 bedroom - maybe only 600 square feet - and you're talking a grand.... go for a 2 bedroom - maybe a thousand square feet - and you're up to 1500 a month... just for rent.... and that same 1 bedroom, 600 square foot place would, could and often does, cost around 300,000 bucks to buy... and the mortgage is more than rent in a lot of cases... how much is that 1 bedroom apartment going to cost in Bangalore...? Probably the same level - in their own currency... Rupees, isn't it? And as for the visas to come and work in the US aren't controlled by the company... They're controlled by the government who decides that person A can come and work but person B, sorry... you have to stay home this year. It's not the employers that give them the visa - it's the government..... And do you think that we (US employees) can just go over to India or China or ______ and work without going through those same kinds of hoops to get the visa/permission to live and work in that country....?!? And sure, those managers and government people can live in those 35K mansions - which would be 3.5 million over here - and is that any different than our managers and government people that live in those 3.5 million dollar mansions...?!? Are those economies and governments corrupt and rife with bribery and skimming from the top and all that..?!? Sure.... But you only need to look as far as your local city/town government, or maybe the county or state, and then even the federal government - to find those same kinds of issues.... Do the names "Duke" Cunningham or ENRON have any meaning...? Kenneth Lay...? Leona Helmsly...? Martha Stewart...?!? I have an old friend that for years, worked in the supply side of the construction industry.... he worked for a cement company.... he was a manager until he retired.... fairly well paid, too.... While he may not have been getting a 6-figure salary, I'm pretty sure he was close.... and then he started doing some consulting south of the border, and he was offered a position to work for this Mexican construction company, basically doing the same job he was doing before.... and they would pay for all his living expenses - including a "villa" in the city he would be working in - some 5000 sq. ft. palace - with paid staff to clean or cook or whatever.... The point I was making - regardless of the corruption and bribery and what-have-you - that may be rampant in those developing countries - is that you are comparing bigger fruits to littler fruits.... Apples to Raisins.... yes, their living conditions are so much worse than ours.... and yes, there are some things - the electricity and such you had mentioned - that they don't have.... but then again, two hundred years ago, neither did we.... The point I made - first and foremost - or tried anyway - was that you're comparing a billion dollar economy (the US) to a million dollar economy (or whatever) of India and other developing countries - Apples to Raisins - and condemning those managers and governments for the same things our own managers (executives) and government are just as guilty of.....
Craig E. Dunham EDI Coordinator EYE Analyst Big 5 Sporting Goods ________________________________ From: Leah Halpin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 9:25 AM To: Dunham Craig E.; [email protected] Subject: Re: [EDI-L] Re: <OFF-TOPIC> Where Executives are put up when they go to Bangalore Craig, I do not disagree with you. However, my main point is that very different economy and government you talk about. At least from my experience in working with Indians (I can't speak for Okimba or Maria), their "management" and government take the lions share of the money and live in mansions that yes, cost the equivalent of $35,000US. You and your mother (and myself and probably some others here) have worked long and hard at minimally paid or "demeaning" jobs to get where we are today. These people can't. They get the education (at what sacrifice by their families I can't even imagine) and then they have to PAY their employer to be ALLOWED to work for them. Or, they get sent to the US to work at such a low wage (sounded good before they left home) so that two professional working adults can only afford to live in a one bedroom apartment with a card table for furniture (no ipod, no fancy SUV) while all the money stays in the pocket of the managers in India. They're hostages because their company "sponsors" their visas and they can't do anything but go back home to worse. They're forced to pad their resumes and lie in interviews by these same managers. Bribery and corruption are institutionalized in India, this doesn't make for a very level playing field for any of us. This is the real problem. Greed, lying and disregard for what I'd call some pretty basic human ethics. Leah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ... Please use the following Message Identifiers as your subject prefix: <SALES>, <JOBS>, <LIST>, <TECH>, <MISC>, <EVENT>, <OFF-TOPIC> Job postings are welcome, but for job postings or requests for work: <JOBS> IS REQUIRED in the subject line as a prefix. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EDI-L/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
