America's fear factor 496

I don't necessarily agree with your geopolitical views -but lets leave it aside for now.

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I am by no means the wisest person on this topic, and since no one has a clue of what the future holds -you cannot take my or anyone's opinion as a sure shot solution. But what I can do is to list out the constraints -which rule out some popular solutions.

(a) Private equity is not public property. Equity or investment goes into creating jobs -and whether the investor is an american or whether the company is registered in the US or not, their wealth is their property in entirety. You cannot legislate that they spend money in hiring americans when cheaper manpower is available elsehwere.

(b) Salaries are a function of cost of living. Having worked in numerous locations (on account of being a drifter), I can say that this is a universal truth. Not a chance you can get a US salary in India or survive on an Indian salary in the US.

(c) The US has had a comparative advantage in terms of technical edge over other countries. But if you look at how much other countries have advanced -that isn't likely to remain the case. Neither do you need a US degree's magic potion nor US experience to adopt new technologies. Many of the smart guys I have come across in India have not had US education or worked in the US or even stepped out of India all their life. So forget about improving skills to overcome the cost of living problem.

Possible solutions would include deflating your currency and.or decongesting metros.

regards -kamal