Freedom. . . to leave.

[d_goddard]

we're starting to see the trend of outsourcing hit the point of diminishing returns.

I don't believe this for a second.
Some 60% of my team are based in Bangalore at the moment. I see no reason why that could not be 80% in 2 years. I see no reason why it could not be 100% and without myself, the PHB managing the product, in 5 years.

In other words, the trend is continuing. India is indeed becoming more expensive; but much of Eastern Europe is now cheaper than India. Even some rural areas of the US are now competitive, thanks to the excellent existing infrastructure, and favorable laws for employers (compared semi-socialist states like India!)

[KBCraig]

Even some rural areas of the US are now competitive, thanks to the excellent existing infrastructure, and favorable laws for employers (compared semi-socialist states like India!)

From the Berlin Daily Sun:

High tech firm finds opportunity in Berlin

Gail Scott

BERLIN? When Katie Delahaye Paine, CEO of KDPaine & Partners, LLC, of Durham, NH, received a solicitation to outsource in India, she decided to check out northern New Hampshire first.

In Berlin she found qualified people and space in cool, brick 19th century buildings, she found a beautiful river and airy mountains, she found friendly people and a place to park.
In September, Paine hopes to have an office of KDPaine & Partners up and running in Berlin.

?It was a no-brainer,? said Paine in an interview Friday.

In her search, she visited not only Berlin, but also other northern communities such as Bethlehem, Littleton, and North Conway.

?Bethlehem has had its renaissance. Littleton is packed,? she said. And when she spoke with the employment office in North Conway, wasting more than half an hour filling out forms, she learned that nobody needs a job there.

In Berlin, however, Les Glover of the Department of Employment Security, had four or five people who, he thought, would qualify for the job. Berlin Economic Director Norm Charest helped her research locations.

The prospective employees were indeed qualified. And, when Paine added up the relative costs among the different communities, the numbers for Berlin worked.
?Berlin was a no brainer, once you put the numbers in there and there is room to grow here,? Paine said.

Paine founded KDPaine & Partners in 2002. Last year the company experienced 51 percent growth, she said. The growth is based in part on the fact that Paine has been in the business for some 20 years, having founded The Delahaye Group in 1987. She sold the Delahaye Group to MediaLink in 1999.

With the wisdom of years of experience, her new firm provides remarkably effective service to the company?s clients. Paine also has visibility thanks to frequent speaking engagements and two newsletters for marketing and communications professionals.

Too, she has taken on a number of public service roles, such as being one of the founders of the Institute for Public Relations special commission on measurement and evaluation. She served as the U.S. liaison to the European Standards Task Force to set international standards for media evaluation.

Her written work appears frequently in such publications as Business Marketing, Communication World, and she writes a regular column for PR News on corporate image and crisis communications.

She has a book coming out this fall called ?Measure of Success.?

?It?s a how-to manual to do what I?ve been doing for the last twenty years,? she said.
?My reputation in the industry is bolstered by my work with the Institute for Public Relations and with academics,? she said. ?We try to stay on the high end of everything. And I?m friendly and accommodating. I can be tough in a competition but my message is that I work with everybody in the industry.?

According to the company?s web site, KDPaine & Partners is ?a firm dedicated to ensuring that public information and public affairs professionals around the world have the information and knowledge they need to measure the success of their efforts.?
In other words, KDPaine does media analysis for individual organizations so the organizations?business, non-profit or governmental?can find out whether or not their messages are effective. The analysis is customized for the individual client, so that reports can be generated that demonstrate answers to specific questions.

?It?s marketing measurement,? Paine said. ?People think of us as doing PR (public relations). That is exactly what we don?t do.?

Software can do some of the heavy lifting in this work, but particularly in these days of blogs, human beings are necessary to provide ?the quality assurance and control,? she said. Out of a plethora of responses to a search, the applicable news needs to be isolated.
As a general example, Paine said, ?If I get 100 articles from a news feed, five might not be relevant to the client. If we search for ?hp,? we will get stories about horsepower as well as the company.?

For the 20 years Paine has been in the business she has worked with software developer Olivier Gaudissart who is now a partner in KDPaine.

?He has created software that is better than 10 million pieces of software other companies are using,? Paine said. ?He has come up with something that listens to the customer.?
Paine is hoping that once the Berlin operation is up and running and KDPaine has ?a little bit more capacity? to meet the present growing demand, the company will be able to do syndicated research. A first project might be to ?suck up all the articles posted in the blogosphere about all the presidential candidates and keep a running tally going of who?s getting mentioned more in the blogosphere in the questions of health care, no child left behind, war, whatever. Who?s winning the media contest is something that we might be able to do. That kind of stuff would be fun,? she said.

Meanwhile, KDPaine needs to expand, partly because the market itself is expanding, Paine said. ?After all the accounting scandals, the demand for measurement metrics and accountability is exploding. Senior management is saying to everybody, ?What?s your return on investment?? ?What are we getting for this?? Management demands decisions based on data,? she said.

She also noted that venture capitalists want second sources for information about companies bidding for their investment.

?If you go on line and look for pr measurement, you come to me,? Paine said.
But why in New Hampshire?

Before she founded The Delahaye Group, Paine worked in California for Lotus and Hewlett-Packard (hp) where, among other things, she had a hand in launching the LaserJet series.

But Paine?s grandfather bought a farm in Durham in 1906?a place that Paine has always loved?and that?s where Paine wants to continue to live. She and KDPaine & Partners are based there now. When it became clear that the company needed more space, she considered many alternatives, including expanding along the seacoast, until the offer from India inspired her to think about looking elsewhere in New Hampshire. That decision was reinforced by suggestions from KDPaine employees Terry and Bruce Aube, whose father grew up in Berlin.

?They are big fishermen and love to come up here,? Paine said.

Having been president of one of the first companies to move into Portsmouth in 1993 and having restored several of the old downtown buildings there, Paine is looking forward to bringing a KDPaine office to Berlin.

?I was half kidding when I kept saying that Berlin is the new Portsmouth. But it is like Portsmouth used to be. You can park. People are friendly. You can walk around downtown. And it has a river. My old office in Portsmouth was on the river.?

Paine is also a fan of old brick buildings. She said she and Arnie Taylor did two renovations in Portsmouth, including the button factory. They started renting space to artisans and painters and woodworkers and other assorted artists for ?two bucks a foot when space elsewhere was going for ten. It brought to Portsmouth a whole bunch of creative types and made Portsmouth the art scene, the cultural scene, it still is,? she said. ?My fantasy is that Berlin needs a place where you could have lofts and artists. Once the creative types come in, the food comes in and the tourists come and all the rest of it follows.?

Meanwhile, Paine hopes to have KDPaine in Berlin up and running in September.

?I?m really jazzed about this,? she said. ?I haven?t been as jazzed about my business and as excited in a long time. Part of the reason is that it goes back to when I first started out, I had the philosophy that I wanted to create a company I wanted to work for. . . . . It?s the idea that you can make a difference with a business. If I were sitting in my house as a consultant I would influence a company, but wouldn?t make a difference. If you are building a company and employing people, you are making a significant difference and making a difference is why I get up in the morning.?

http://www.measuresofsuccess.com/

[Alex]

...
If it leads to more centralized laws, it's a bad thing as the more people a law affects, the more tyrannical it is (even if the law is entirely liberty oriented!!). If it doesn't lead to a more centralized government, then it's obviously a wonderful thing.

No, the more people affected by a legislative body the less representation those people have. It can be the most benevolent government around but as more people fall under its aegis the less say the people have in the laws being made.

Decentralize the government as much as possible.

Why did you say "no", then agree with me? lol

[d_goddard]

The outsourcing will continue apace... most, but not all, of it will be offshoring.

[Pat McCotter]

...
If it leads to more centralized laws, it's a bad thing as the more people a law affects, the more tyrannical it is (even if the law is entirely liberty oriented!!). If it doesn't lead to a more centralized government, then it's obviously a wonderful thing.

No, the more people affected by a legislative body the less representation those people have. It can be the most benevolent government around but as more people fall under its aegis the less say the people have in the laws being made.

Decentralize the government as much as possible.

Why did you say "no", then agree with me? lol

Just picking a nit, albeit a fairly large one to me. I was saying no on "the more people a law affects, the more tyrannical it is" phrase. Just because a law affects more people does not make it tyrannical. It just drowns out the voices of the dissenters - less representation.

[firsty]

as india gets more expensive, there will be more outsourcing to other places, yes. however, eastern europe has even more immediate access to higher learning centers. western russia is already almost as expensive as domestic pricing (in my line of work anyway). and as time goes on, global labor will demand more common pricing overall. things won't be equal 5 yrs from now, but they will be 50 years from now.

or not. who knows. all i know is, we cant afford to simply look at one nation at a time anymore.

at least thats what i know now. i stand 100% behind every single thing i say, and affirm that it is precisely what i meant at that given moment. i reserve the right to change my mind at any time.

one thing i do believe about oursourcing is that the percentage of labor in any market should equal (more or less) the percentage of consumers in that market for that labor's product. that would at least (maybe) keep the corporations from taking as much advantage of the people as they do now.

[Alex]

...
If it leads to more centralized laws, it's a bad thing as the more people a law affects, the more tyrannical it is (even if the law is entirely liberty oriented!!). If it doesn't lead to a more centralized government, then it's obviously a wonderful thing.

No, the more people affected by a legislative body the less representation those people have. It can be the most benevolent government around but as more people fall under its aegis the less say the people have in the laws being made.

Decentralize the government as much as possible.

Why did you say "no", then agree with me? lol

Just picking a nit, albeit a fairly large one to me. I was saying no on "the more people a law affects, the more tyrannical it is" phrase. Just because a law affects more people does not make it tyrannical. It just drowns out the voices of the dissenters - less representation.

In a theoretical world where everyone might want the same things, such a law might not, but in practice I can't think of a single law that could be applied to the whole world that woudn't be tyrannical. The representation problem is also true, but not the whole problem.

[Pat McCotter]

Hmmm... At least they haven't figured out a way to outsource electricity or steam or the wires and pipes for them to flow in. Unless, of course, you believe the conspiracy nuts theorists that Nicola Tesla discovered how to get electricity from the air and was kept from marketing it.

[BillyC]

Hmmm... At least they haven't figured out a way to outsource electricity or steam or the wires and pipes for them to flow in. Unless, of course, you believe the conspiracy nuts theorists that Nicola Tesla discovered how to get electricity from the air and was kept from marketing it.

Hey I resemble that remark 

Now why would anyone want to keep something that unbelievably cool away from the masses?

[KBCraig]

Unless, of course, you believe the conspiracy nuts theorists that Nicola Tesla discovered how to get electricity from the air and was kept from marketing it.

What a preposterous notion.

Everyone knows it was John Galt!

[citizen_142002]

Letters of Mark and Reprisal are perfectly suited to an effort to combat terror cells. For those unfamiliar these letters of mark are an alternative to war. Essentially the letters of reprisal are a license to kill the individual enemies named with legal impunity i.e. a license to kill. Letters of mark allow privateers or mercenaries to seize enemy assets. These actions are a lesser response than an act of war and more appropriate in dealing with a stateless enemy.

To say that it is unlibertarian to use coerced taxes to fund miliary opperations is not correct in my opinion. It is not consistent with anarchism, but libertarians usually hold that some government is necessary to defend life, liberty, and property. The government is intended to provide for the common defense as stated in the preamble.
Our federal government was created for the purposes of defense and little else. Of course it is now more occupied with wars of aggression which create our enemies.
I would like to see a militia system replace our standing army as much as possible, but that isn't the direction things are headed.

"But it ought always to be held prominently in view that the safety of these States and of free people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia. Invasions may be made too formidable to resisted by any land and naval force which would comport either with the principles of our Government or the circumstances of the United States to maintain. In such cases recourse must be made to the great body of the people, and in a manner to produce the best effect. It is of the highest importance, therefore, that they be so organized and trained as to prepare for any emergency."
President James Monroe's first Inaugural Address 1817

Some would argue that in an age of jet fighters and ICBMs the militia argument is a red herring, but the Swiss have continued to organize a modern military on a militia structure. Pilots and Submariners can be volunteers made up of the general population too. Not that I advocate the cumpolsory nature of Swiss service, just that it's an example of a neutral nation with a people's army. How much blood has been shed on Swiss soil since adoption of this system?
Imagine if we had a truly free and armed society in this nation on 9-11. Those towers would still be standing. No bullet holes don't really take down the whole plane, that's just hollywood BS.

[tracysaboe]

But see Iraq has nothing to do with defence.

Even so. It's immoral to compell a man to pay for that which he finds morally objectionable. (To quote Jefferson.)

If I believe this war is immoral, it's tyranny to force me to fund it. Pure and simple.

Tracy

[Alex]

To say that it is unlibertarian to use coerced taxes to fund miliary opperations is not correct in my opinion. It is not consistent with anarchism, but libertarians usually hold that some government is necessary to defend life, liberty, and property. The government is intended to provide for the common defense as stated in the preamble.

You are assuming that the military cannot exist without forced taxation.

[Pat McCotter]

Letters of Mark and Reprisal are perfectly suited to an effort to combat terror cells. For those unfamiliar these letters of mark are an alternative to war. Essentially the letters of reprisal are a license to kill the individual enemies named with legal impunity i.e. a license to kill. Letters of mark allow privateers or mercenaries to seize enemy assets. These actions are a lesser response than an act of war and more appropriate in dealing with a stateless enemy.

HR3076: September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001

107th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3076
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to certain acts of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, and other similar acts of war planned for the future.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 10, 2001
Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A BILL
To authorize the President of the United States to issue letters of marque and reprisal with respect to certain acts of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, and other similar acts of war planned for the future.


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) That the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 upon the United States were acts of air piracy contrary to the law of nations.

(2) That the terrorist attacks were acts of war perpetrated by enemy belligerents to destroy the sovereign independence of the United States of America contrary to the law of nations.

(3) That the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks were actively aided and abetted by a conspiracy involving one Osama bin Laden and others known and unknown, either knowingly and actively affiliated with a terrorist organization known as al Qaeda or knowingly and actively conspiring with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, both of whom are dedicated to the destruction of the United States of America as a sovereign and independent nation.

(4) That the al Qaeda conspiracy is a continuing one among Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and others known and unknown with plans to commit additional acts of air piracy and other similar acts of war upon the United States of America and her people.

(5) That the act of war committed on September 11, 2001, by the al Qaeda conspirators, and the other acts of war planned by the al Qaeda conspirators, are contrary to the law of nations.

(6) That under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has the power to grant letters of marque and reprisal to punish, deter, and prevent the piratical aggressions and depredations and other acts of war of the al Qaeda conspirators.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF PRESIDENT.

(a) The President of the United States is authorized and requested to commission, under officially issued letters of marque and reprisal, so many of privately armed and equipped persons and entities as, in his judgment, the service may require, with suitable instructions to the leaders thereof, to employ all means reasonably necessary to seize outside the geographic boundaries of the United States and its territories the person and property of Osama bin Laden, of any al Qaeda co-conspirator, and of any conspirator with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda who are responsible for the air piratical aggressions and depredations perpetrated upon the United States of America on September 11, 2001, and for any planned future air piratical aggressions and depredations or other acts of war upon the United States of America and her people.

(b) The President of the United States is authorized to place a money bounty, drawn in his discretion from the $40,000,000,000 appropriated on September 14, 2001, in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorists Attacks on the United States or from private sources, for the capture, alive or dead, of Osama bin Laden or any other al Qaeda conspirator responsible for the act of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001, under the authority of any letter of marque or reprisal issued under this Act.

(c) No letter of marque and reprisal shall be issued by the President without requiring the posting of a security bond in such amount as the President shall determine is sufficient to ensure that the letter be executed according to the terms and conditions thereof.

[Pat McCotter]

Letters of Mark and Reprisal are perfectly suited to an effort to combat terror cells. For those unfamiliar these letters of mark are an alternative to war. Essentially the letters of reprisal are a license to kill the individual enemies named with legal impunity i.e. a license to kill. Letters of mark allow privateers or mercenaries to seize enemy assets. These actions are a lesser response than an act of war and more appropriate in dealing with a stateless enemy.

Also in the book Balance of Power by James Huston

One nation indivisible...until now.

Off the coast of Indonesia, an American cargo ship has been seized by terrorists, its captain kidnapped and its crew mercilessly slaughtered. In Washington, a peace-loving President's refusal to punish the transgressors has enraged the sitting Congress, led by a determined Speaker of the House.

An ambitious young congressional assistant, Jim Dillon has discovered a time bomb hidden away in America's Constitution- a provision that could be used to wrest power from the Chief Executive; a long-forgotten clause that could incite a devastating constitutional crisis...and plunge the country into chaos.

Now, as a battle group steams toward a fateful confrontation in the Java Sea-commissioned by Congress and opposed by the President- Dillon finds himself in the center of a firestorm that rages from the highest court in the land to the killing fields half a world away. And, suddenly, there is much more at stake than the life of a single surviving hostage and a superpower's military credibility -- as a great nation prepares for war...against itself.