Zero summing outsourcing

“And don't pack my suitcase, I'll be back
And don't take my pictures off your wall
Oh, did you hear me?”

Even as PHIL COLLINS was crooning in, I was looking outside the window. A young boy was sitting under a coconut palm barely aware of the risk to his life from the bunch on top. Wanted to tell him a guy called Issac Newton has patented gravity sitting under a much safer tree. Wasn’t too sure IP mattered to this one…

.

The rain had stopped and felt like a walk. Picked up a newspaper on my way and the headline screamed "Reverse outsourcing." Oh, really ? That seemed quite funny. Reading about that in India - arguably the world’s outsourcing hub, seemed a bit ironic. Naturally we expect the tide to turn too...

.

Know one thing for sure. I won't be rankled like those anti-outsourcing crusaders... I just imagined a wide grinning Lou Dobbs ...

.

"Thanks a million, Lou.... for giving me an idea for my own local show, some day..."
.

Vinnie's take on Lou Dobbs

Lou Dobbs The CNN anchor is mad as hell about offshore outsourcing and faith-based economics. Lou Dobbs Tonight attracts CNN's largest audience, of about 800,000.

A peek into Dobbs’ mind (through an interview by Jeff Fleischer as featured in Motherjones.com on February 7, 2005)

Excerpts -

"MJ.com: How do you respond to the free-traders' argument that outsourcing is a short-term problem required for long-term economic growth?

LD: Well, there's nothing short-term about 28 consecutive years of trade deficits. There's nothing short-term about a mounting external debt as a result of our reliance on imports -- an external debt that has reached $4 trillion. I see no basis whatsoever for the sophistry that's coming from some of the conservative think tanks and much of academia that says this is a short-term issue. This is real and present pain for literally millions of Americans, and a clear and present danger to an economy that has generated most of the wealth of the entire world over the past 50 years. We could be near the end of that role."

Find the full interview featured here.

Here’s the humorous broadside from my favorite deal architect and consultant Vinnie Mirchandani’s post barbing Lou in the aftermath of blockbuster Q1 results of GE when it’s revenues from developing markets outgrew that of its global revenues in percentage terms.

Quoting Vinnie -

“Take a look at GE's first quarter results. Shining star - Global revenues of $19.6 billion, up 9%, and developing markets revenues of $7 billion, up 14%. Yup, those countries which "import" our jobs as Lou Dobbs would say, are also spending with our companies. Those that invest in products and sales forces that sell abroad.

The dog this quarter - GE Money with the sub-prime mortgage problems in the US. Lou, somehow we need to find a way to also blame the mortgage mess on Chinese trade and immigrants…”

I am completely sold on that, Vinnie…I did make it a point to comment under that post too. Hope you’ve noticed it J !