India is taking our jobs. China is financing our broken government. What would we have done without them the past 7 years? $6 trillion doesn't just grow on trees, you know.
Some depressing news this week... Someone who had become a friend but was actually my sales rep with the local metro daily was laid off, along with eight other middle management positions. All of their bosses now have to do their work. I'm very nervous to see what our newspaper looks like this week and how distribution goes. We'll see.
About three months ago, a high school friend's father came into the office to submit an application. After over 30 years of working for
The Telegraph, he was let go when his job was sent to India. He was a graphic artist, creating local display ads.
Most of this is driven by the fact that McClatchy acquired Knight Ridder last year, and with the economic downturn, they can't pay off the $4 billion debt.
So now, local advertisers in Macon have to contend with people who speak English as a second language (and we all know how well most of them speak it thanks to mortgage companies, technical support, etc.). The culture in India is so different that they will make a lot of mistakes due to misunderstanding. One of our customers, who used to send us the ad that ran in the Telegraph, has asked if we can build his ad for him. He runs a grocery store, and things like "all beef franks" don't translate.
Even worse, at other papers,
like the Kansas City Star (see this story about the layoffs), they have sent copy editing (proofing stories for content, grammar and punctuation, as well as writing headlines) and page design, for at least some of their sections, to India.
It's scary to think of what could happen without newspapers in these metro markets. The Macon city government gets away with enough with the media's eyes on them. Not everyone has access to the internet, and local TV can't cover everything.
I hope these companies can limp through tough times and rehire some of the laid off employees, but I wouldn't count on it. Corporations are not going to hire people to do something that is getting done anyway, whether it's getting done well or not.
We really need to think about how much influence we want Eastern countries to have over us. We also need to evaluate why American workers are not worth their wages to American companies. How could we improve America's economy?
STOP SENDING OUR JOBS OVERSEAS! These aren't just employees. They are families, and they have no chance living in a nation that doesn't support them.
america
