News Week Article

News Week has an article up today, link, that talks about all the same issues with multinational corporations I brought up about a week ago in this post.

Makes me feel like a real blogger!

Tom Selleck UFC Pride Fight

Linux+ : Week 3

I just finished reading through Mike Meyers' Certification Passport Linux+. I really like the Mike Meyers' books. They are easy to read and offer a decent amount of information without getting overwhelming. This is the third book of the series I have read and continues to be a great resource. The books are not for beginners or those looking to really dig deep into the selected topics. They are perfect for users with some experience who are looking to sharpen their skills to pass the given exam.

This book is written by Michael Jang who holds a number of Linux certs including his RHCE, LPIC-2 and of course Linux+. He does a good job covering the basics of RPM based linux distros with attention given to which topics are important for the exam. Since the book was published in 2008 and the last Linux+ exam update was in 2005 there are some topics of interest that will not appear on the test. The author does a good job of balancing these two areas. Because Comptia is neutral within the industry the exam covers no specific distro but the author manages to point out some of the differences between the RPM based versions of linux pertaining to the exam, Red Hat/Fedora, SUSE, Turbolinux and Mandriva.

The true test of the book will come when I take my exam as that is what this book aims to prepare you for. I am getting ready to start the Sybex study guide and some practice exams so we will get an early glimpse at how prepared I actually am. Overall I would say the book is a solid 8/10 for those looking to take the exam. If you are looking to expand your general linux skills or for an introduction to linux I would suggest looking elsewhere. Also, since Ubuntu is by far the most popular linux distribution today I should mention that Ubuntu is not covered in this book, nor is any other Debian based distro. I am no linux whiz but the book has given me a good boost and I think it would be plenty for someone with maybe a year of experience working with linux.

Pop Champagne

This is my new catch phrase.

Examples of use:

Steve: "We are having another baby."

Rob: "Pop Champagne!"

Chad: "I got a raise at work today."

Rob: "Pop Champagne!"

Brad: "Pop Champagne!"

Rob: "Pop Champagne!"

Spread the word.

Shipping Jobs Overseas

I overheard a conversation at work this morning about how part of our current economic predicament is because of US companies sending jobs over seas and President Obama's plan to change our current international tax laws. I guess the idea is that US companies are moving jobs over seas to take advantage of low cost labor. Now, I am not saying that some companies are not guilty of this practice but the majority of companies that establish foreign affiliates do so for other reasons that actually help the US economy and jobs.

The main reason for operating a foreign affiliate is to sell products to foreign markets. Producing and selling your product in your target market has the added benefit of lower-cost labor, ready access to raw materials, reduced transportation costs and proximity to their ultimate customers. These give huge advantages when competing in a global market and targeting a specific foreign market. Many people cringe at the idea of low cost labor, immediately envisioning some Dickensian hell with under paid, half starved workers slaving away while American corporations get rich. But in reality the lower labor costs are typically only lower compared to US wages. Many foreign countries benefit from the presence of a multinational corporation's presence. In 2006 US owned companies employed 9.5 million foreign workers, talk about some true foreign aid! Not only that but these workers were not producing goods at a lower cost that were then shipped back overseas to be sold to Americans at a higher profit. Nearly 90% of goods produced by US foreign branches are then sold in either the host market or some other foreign market. This is not the evil multinational corporation we are used to thinking about. This is wealth being created in countries where it might not otherwise be generated and certainly not as quickly.

But what about the American worker? Surely there is some poor American out of work due to this foreign outsourcing. This is simply not so. A National Bureau of Economic Research study found "a strong positive correlation between domestic and foreign growth rates of multinational firms." And separate studies by economists have found that domestic growth can be as high as 30% of foreign growth including increased compensation for the US employees. So we see that not only are most corporations not moving jobs overseas but those that do operate there actually create more jobs here in the good old US of A.

So why do many politicians, including our President, want to crack down on the tax breaks issued to these multinational US based companies? I have no idea!! The major US tax break is a deferral of corporate taxes on foreign income until it is brought back to the US. The income is not untaxed, these monies are subject to the taxes of the host nation. This tax exemption is made to encourage reinvestment in the foreign market. Which as we have already seen leads to an increase investment in the parent company here in the US. Every modern industrial nation gives at least this much to their multinational corporations. Denying this exemption would place US based companies at a major disadvantage in foreign markets and essentially double tax the money made abroad. If politicians truly want to encourage domestic growth they should look at lowering our corporate tax rate to encourage foreign corporations to setup shop here in the US, creating more jobs and reducing our need for imports.

Welcome Home Uncle Jim

My uncle Jim is coming home from California today. It has been years since I have seen him and I am pretty excited. When I was just a budding young awkward pre-teen, uncle Jim taught me about the nerdier things in life. He introduced me to IRC, quality Sci-Fi and most importantly role playing games!

It might be time to invest in a new 20 sided die!

Quote That Made My Day

“We have to do it in the Facebook, with the Twittering, the different technology that young people are using today.”

—outgoing Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan on the party’s Internet strategy, quoted in The Washington Post, January 5