NYCPHP Meetup

[Jayesh Sheth]

Hello all,

It has been very interesting to read your thoughts on outsourcing. I 
have to compliment many of you for being open minded (perhaps even 
magnanimous) when it comes to this subject; I say this because there is 
a common perception that the downturn in the technology sector is being 
exacerbated by the transfer of jobs abroad.

I come to this issue with very mixed feelings. I grew up in India - the 
country that now strikes fear into many hearts because programmers there 
  are happy to work at lower wages than people in America are. I have 
recent seen (in business dealings) that when I mention India, there is 
visible wince.

I went back to India early this year to the city I grew up in - Pune - 
which was mentioned in the recent Wired article. It is a new city - the 
middle class has greatly expanded, and many of the previous middle class 
members have joins the ranks of the upper class. Regardless of one's 
major in college - be it Engineering or English - people are signing up 
in droves  at computer programming institutes. People wake up at night, 
and drive to call-centers to work. The bright light of the Indian spring 
shines everywhere, and the colors seem more vibrant than ever. People 
are happy  - and more prosperous than ever before.

Then I come back to New York - to this economy. It is still a bit slushy 
  in March - the grey snow does not seem to have fully melted (at least 
not in my mind). I seem to catch the glare of another angry New Yorker 
out of the corner of my eye. And then it hits me: I am another bitter 
New Yorker myself.

For years the backers of free markets said that it would prosperity to 
poorer nations. People who had been praising Ricardo for his theories of 
competitive advantage now railed against the impending doom that could 
be brought on by the movement of jobs to India and Eastern Europe.

And the funny thing was - I kind of felt it too.
I started my design and development business at the worst possible time 
(the Fall of 2002), and I have hung in there ever since. I would be 
lying if I said it has been easy.

I recently posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist for an internship with 
a modest stipend ($500 per month). I got over 100 responses, some from 
people with MBAs and Computer Engineering degrees.

So whenever I see people boasting that they earn such-and-such an amount 
per hour, or that they would not accept anything less than a particular 
amount, I nod, smile to myself and think "good for you then - if you can 
manage it".

During the last three hundred years, India has undergone great pains and 
great poverty. If the free-market system means that millions of fellow 
Indians can be liften out of poverty, then what's so bad about it?

Well - I just wonder if the free market system is a win-win or a 
win-lose system. If it is a win-lose system, I should just hire 5 people 
in India, and start marketing like crazy here in New York. "If you can't 
  beat 'em, join 'em", right?

But what about the immediacy of dealing with local businesses? What 
about the communication difficulties that arise from having to use the 
phone and instant messenger instead of meeting face to face?

And why should I pay someone in India $600 per month to work remotely, 
when I can get a qualified intern for $500 per month here in New York?

If this great capitalist system can only have a few winners, I want to 
be among those selfish few. I know - it sounds crass and stupid, but I 
don't want to be among the dazed people sleeping in the subway station, 
or those digging through trash cans, or those pushing around carts 
loaded with recyclables so that they can exchange them for food.

I have come to the realization that in this city - and perhaps anywhere 
else in the world - it's every man for himself. If I were to be run over 
by a truck, people would probably step over me.

So why should people in India not seize the chance for a better life? 
Who cares if people like me think that downward wage pressure from 
outsourcing could affect me negatively?

If it's the market meeting out the justice, then justice is already at 
work - if qualified people in New York are willing to work for $500 per 
month, then India has just been out priced. There is too much demand for 
people who speak English well there - so much, in fact - that their 
market cannot catch up fast enough.

For the last one hundred years, America has seen a dramatic growth in 
prosperity. Perhaps now it is time for other nations to stake their 
claim at the same thing.

Best Regards,

- Jay Sheth