Individuals Going Global

December 31, 2004

Here is a thought to end 2004 on. One of the hot topics of the year, at least in the wealthier industrialized nations, has been the offshoring of jobs. Increasingly workers are being laid off, their employers having found that their jobs can be performed for far less overseas. Most of these jobs seem to be moving to Asia, but many have been moving to Africa as well. Labor there is simply much less expensive. And cost is not the only issue. At one time educated workers were to be found only in fully developed nations. No longer. China and India, to be sure, have many highly educated individuals; and the educational level is rising in other nations as well.

This is old news - what are the the trends to watch?

Just as labor is cheaper overseas; so is the cost of living. Increasingly we will see those workers with some savings moving overseas to take advantage of what their savings can buy them: nice houses, dining at fine restaurants, medical care, servants, etc. A veritable host of luxuries - even what some may view as necessities, which those workers cannot afford in the U.S., the U.K. or many other western nations. This will be particularly appealing to the under and unemployed.

But what of closeness to families, the reader might ask. With new technologies and increased real wealth, these citizens of the world will make do. Transoceanic telephone conversations were once prohibitively priced, but are not so highly priced today, and prices will continue to fall. Teleconferencing, allowing a closer experience, is now a daily occurence in commercial settings; so it's only a matter of time before families teleconference as a matter of course. Finally, these now relatively wealthy workers will be able to fly home on vacations from time to time.

If this writer is correct in believing that increasing numbers of younger more mobile workers will choose to move overseas, rather than face economic struggle in the wealthier countries of their birth, it is worth pausing a moment to consider possible repercussions. Already, at least in the U.S., pundits are bemoaning the burdens which will be placed on coming generations to support the aging population (baby boomers) as it retires. Should those generations which are expected to take on supporting roles offshore themselves to any noticeable degree -- those same concerns, as of the time of this writing, may be underestimated.

© 2004 Daniel A. Krohn