Everybody Loves Your Money

I confess that I don’t read a ton of books. I should read more, but I just haven’t done it. I am in the middle of a book called, “The World is Flat” by Thomas L Friedman. Friedman also wrote a popular book called “The Lexus and the Olive Tree”.

The World is Flat discusses technology and globalization. Friedman contends that there are 10 forces that flattened the world. By a flat world, he means the ability to do many types of work and have many different peoples compete for that same work across the globe. We’ve all heard of, and seen the effects of outsourcing in America. First it was mostly lower skilled blue collar jobs that were being sent out of the country. The clothing industry is a great example of the kinds of work that went overseas. Now all the talk is of white collar jobs being sent overseas. Examples of this are call center jobs, some accounting work, technical support, radiology work, tax preparation etc. Friedman believes that this will continue to accelerate and our economy, as well as the economies of all other participating nations will change even more radically. He also talks about the impacts that this will have on governments and nations over time.

It’s a very easy book to read and will open your eyes and explain how our economy is changing every day. It will also highlight the importance of continually upgrading your skills, and force you to consider targeting the types of jobs that cannot be easily done across the globe. Sure, there are lots of those jobs, such as some medical professions, police officers, fire fighters, etc, where the work is performed for people and is integrally tied to a specific location. All other work is up for global sourcing consideration.

Check it out. If someone has an amazon affiliate link to this book on their PF site, I’d be happy to link it in so that you can get the referral. (First PF blog gets it).

I’m finally back from England. Needless to say, I’m a bit tired. The 8 hour time difference can really take a toll on you. My two year old daughter is no exception. She got up at 2:00 am this morning, walked in to our room and said, “Good Morning”. NO, NO! It’s not morning. You need to go back to bed. She didn’t understand, because her body clock was telling her it was 10:00 am. Oh well. We’ll just deal with the sleep deprivation for a couple days until we get back on west coast time.

I had a ton of interesting experiences while in England. I think I was finally getting used to driving on the other side of the road, or should I say, being in a car that was driving on the other side of the road. (I chose not to drive as a “life preservation” tactic).

One thing you notice as soon as you arrive is that most cars are VERY small. The smallest cars I saw were the “Smart Cars”. They are extremely small vehicles (basically two seats and metal wrapped around them), but they were kind of cool. Would I want to get in an accident in one? NO. When I was talking to one of my wife’s relatives, he mentioned that he spends anywhere from 70 pounds to 140 pounds a week on gas for his car. It’s an SUV, but certainly not the size of the American SUV’s. Translated in dollars, that’s somewhere around $130 to $260 a week on gas. It was TERRIBLY expensive over there. If you think gas is expensive in the US, think again. If the US gas keeps climbing, I bet we’ll start seeing smaller cars that look more like what everyone is driving in England.

Well, I’ve got tons of interesting tidbits to share. If my England observations bore you, I apologize. Much of it will center around the costs of things in England, and how heavily they are taxed there.