Does a rising tide float all boats?

I went to hear a lecture tonight on the campus of NC State given by Dr. William Easterly. Dr. Easterly is renown for his stance, overly simplified by me, that there still exists a double standard when it comes to freedom. That is, that rich people deserve to be free, and poor people deserve to be told what is best for them by the rich free people.

I had not read much about Dr. Easterly before attending the lecture, and was expecting something quite different from what I heard. He was a strong proponent of the premise that poor people in developing nations are no different than their more wealthy western counterparts in that both have the desire ( and ability ) to be free and lift themselves out of poverty.

I walked away from tonight agreeing with most everything Dr. Easterly said ( which is not common for me in any setting much less one where I am going to hear a college professor ). I have long believed ( and put into practice every day ) that people with the skills to do the work I need done can be sitting next to me or half way around the world. I have had part and full time employees and contractors from India, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Pakistan, China, Uruguay, Argentina, and other countries. The motivation for this has been two-fold: (1) People from other parts of the world have proven to be very reliable, extremely creative, and ready to do what is required to keep their jobs and (2) I can get this labor at rates that are less than onshore personnel.

I have always left the work that must be done in the US to those that are highly capable. But, in my mind, writing code is no different than making toys. If I can get the work done elsewhere at a better price, why not do it? It puts money and opportunity in the hands of people who may not have ever had either, and allows me to focus onshore resources on the higher value work that may require things like being able to communicate in spoken English, etc. The person on the other end of the transaction is making a fair wage ( determined by market forces ) and is then free to invest that money in US-built goods and services.

There are those that might take exception to this argument, or claim the moral high ground that a US worker should be doing the work. Maybe in some cases this is true, but a more sustainable economy for the other 5.7 billion people on the planet has to have a positive impact on the US economy in the macro.

I may just buy Dr. Easterly’s book after all.