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ABC Is Looking For Interviews

 
Ranch Hand
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ABC News is doing some in-depth coverage of the outsourcing trend. They are looking for comment from unemployed or underemployed workers.
Go to:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/Business/Working_Harder_Emails.html
 
Natalie Kopple
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The Chicago Tribune is also writing offshoring stories:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0402130057feb13,1,2365858.story
You may contact the journalist
Michael D. O'Neal Gen'l Assignment
312-222-3490
e-mail: MDOnela@tribune.com
Outsourced workers find voice, listeners. Peers, politicians focus more on jobs sent abroad.
[ February 13, 2004: Message edited by: Natalie Kopple ]
 
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Dear All,
Don't be shy. If you are truely a victim of outsourcing, you must speak up, loud, and clear with proper medium so it could help those pointy-heads in Washington understand and fix the problems.
For example, in the following link demonstates what you could do.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/bistech/08/11/training.replacements.ap/

Regards,
MCao
 
Natalie Kopple
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Please read Valerie's story http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2004/02/03/mcjobs/index_np.html
Valerie is a single mother. At lease two of her boys if not all three of them are handicapped. There are more to her story. I am uncertain if she wants me to talk about them. Whenever I think of Valerie, I am unable to sleep well.
Please come forward and speak up.
 
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Don't always believe what the press says.
On page 2 of the report, it says that the couple were making 200,000 per year and yet ended up with a 75000 student loan that remained unpaid.
I can't believe that anyone would not pay off a student loan when the combined income was over 200K.
Either the story is made up to garner sympathy or the couple were not being financially prudent.
 
Natalie Kopple
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Are you talking about the story at http://www.salon.com? I happen to know the people in the story (Valerie Chau and Chad Pratt) personally. Those are true stories and they are real people. I can give you their e-mail addresses to contact them directly.
 
A C Toyota
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Okay, so the people may be real but my point is
Why did the second couple in the story have 75000 in student loan debt when they were making over 200K a year? They talk about the big house and the mercedes and other materials things that they had when they were earning the bucks but did they show any personal responsiblity at paying down debt?
When someone is making 200K per year, they should have the decency to accept some personal responsiblity and pay down debt. They can't just blame their job loss for their poor financial situation. Declaring personal bankruptcy is not the solution. Guess who assumes that 75K debt, you and me, the taxpayers.
 
Natalie Kopple
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I do not know the couple who had made 200K a year before they were laid off. I did not even see there were a couple in the story. Where did the story talk about a couple?
I have been talking about Valerie and Chad. Valerie has been a single mother. Chad is also single. Valerie and Chad are not related to each other. I know both Valerie and Chad. Their stories are sad.
 
A C Toyota
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It is on page 2 of the same link that you provided.
I copied the text for you.
----
[Copyrighted text removed. --Mark Herschberg]
[ February 16, 2004: Message edited by: Mark Herschberg ]
 
Natalie Kopple
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What you copied is redundant to me. I have made very clear that I know Valerie and Chad only. I did not read about the couple when I posted the link. Valerie and Chad's stories are real.
I am not going to spend any time to continue the conversation on "some couple" anymore. I am not as free as you are. I do not have the time.
I only wish people could come forward and speak up for the woe of tech professionals in the U.S. That is it.
[ February 16, 2004: Message edited by: Natalie Kopple ]
 
Matt Cao
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Hi,
My rule of thumb about reading news is only read from well reputation names. The journalist of those companies usually do background check on the subjects in the new as a policy because they may get into a lot of legal issues if the story result in the different way.
Regards,
MCao
[ February 16, 2004: Message edited by: Matt Cao ]
 
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Originally posted by A C Toyota:
(deleted - PW)


This posting is inappropriate. You are more than welcome to disagree with other people, but attack their arguments, not them. We treat everyone with respect on this site and follow the simple rule of "be nice."
Your Friendly Bartender,
Mark
[ February 17, 2004: Message edited by: Paul Wheaton ]
 
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I'm a little reluctant to judge someone's financial decisions without a little more information.
Sure, $200K a year in salary and $75K worth of debt may seem irresponsible, but there is also no information on how they were dealing with their debt. Were they on a payment plan? What was the original amount? Perhaps they thought that they could take car of it over-time since most people in technology were told over and over what a stable and good paying field it would always be.
But the real issue is not the fact they had $75K in debt despite what appeared to be a pretty cushy lifestyle, but rather that some very successful people have gone from $52/hr to $8/hr.
Not exactly living the American dream.
 
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During the dot-com heyday it was for a short while actually possible to max out your 18% credit cards, buy stocks and make more than enough on the stock appreciation to make a profit on the credit-card rate.
Which is a little extreme, but aside from it being un-American to not be in debt up to your eyebrows, debt is a useful tool if managed properly. Otherwise we wouldn't have mortgages, for example.
Agree, 75K is a bit much to have floating around, but it's relatively small when you are expecting to make $200K/year+raises on an ongoing basis. Espceially since after the first $100K or so, the drain on your finances for basic living expenses can be relatively minor.
Closer to home, I had a friend who managed in pre-dot-com times to rack up $38K in credit card debt on an income of about $55K. He ended up having to sell part of his real estate inheritance to get the creditors off his back.
And he was more or less a responsible person with money.
[ February 17, 2004: Message edited by: Tim Holloway ]
 
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