New Mars Forums

I believe in space exploration. I'm a hard-core scientist. I belong to the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, the oldest such group in the U.S. I love science fairs and science museums and scientific shows and talks and books...

And yet...

Many high-paying jobs are being outsourced to workers in lower-wage, mostly third-world countries like India and China. I have seen estimates of up to 14 million such jobs being exported within the next few years.

The amount of wages to be lost within the next few years has been estimated to be over $150 billion, and probably much more. I am an excellent case in point, having been laid off 1 1/2 years ago and yet to find a job that pays even half of what I previously earned.

So please tell me exactly who is going to pay for outer space missions? The $10,000 per year worker in India? I don't think they're paying taxes here in the U.S. I'm not paying any taxes. My friends aren't paying any taxes.... So how do we pay for everything?

Second, some "baby boomers" have begun to retire. They're leaving their jobs in the science and engineering industries. But my figures from the IEEE and the ACM show that enrollment in science and engineering programs is down (15% and more) and declining. After all, who wants to spend 10 years (silly me!) earning multiple science degrees only to end up working in a dead-end job as a file clerk or a Walmart cashier?

So...who is going to run and staff these space and science programs?....Ahhh...I forget... we can import scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology on H1-B visas...right?

I think this issue of outsourcing is a legitimate cause for concern and threatens the long-term viability of American science and engineering research and development. I would like to hear comments from readers.