Someone once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over again, yet expecting different results. Given that, it's safe to say that JPMorganChase is insane:
The great sucking sound continues...
I'm an I.T. guy and I spent most of my career in Charlotte, NC (banking central) so I've seen this bullshit first-hand. Here's how it goes.
- Big bank realizes it can hire Indian workers at a fraction of the cost of Americans
- Big bank announces layoffs
- Big bank sometimes requires outgoing Americans to train new offshore employees
- Laissez-faire capitalist types tell us this is good because the company saves money, and becomes more profitable, therefore spends more money, etc.
Fast forward to 2009, and how are these big banks (notorious offenders of sending jobs overseas) doing? How'd all that "cost-cutting" work out for them?
It's lunacy. We spend years gutting our middle class, and are told that the "savings" by these mega corporations will produce more economic stimulation. Meanwhile, wages as a percentage of GDP continue to lag while the CEOs & executives rake in the cash.
CEO pay went up 6-fold between 1980 and 2003. While regular folks' wages went up 1.6% (adjusted for inflation).
In theory, I'd be fine with offshoring -- but we all know what that "cost-cutting" means. It means we're padding the pockets of the very rich while continuing to stick it to the middle class. This boils down to the same thing that has destroyed our economy : we cannot count on corporate executives to act ethically.
Oh, and by the way, JPMorganChase received $25 billion in TARP funds from you & me.
Angry yet?