"Tom S." wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Tom S." wrote in message
...

So you both consider the only alternatives to be A) $300 billion worth
of
often contradictory regulations, or B) massive pollution??
Hmmmm...!!??


No, what I said is that enviornmental regulation is not a major cause of
jobs moving offshore.

It's may not be THE FIRST cause, but it is one of MANY.

You have to realize that most of your $300B figure is
going to reduce pollution and that is reducing cost somewhere else.

I've seen very good estimates that by getting the EPA and their political
hacks out of it, the cost of cleaning up and keeping the environment
CLEANER
would be about one-sixth the present cost.

I agree (don't know about one sixth though), but the problem is that SOMEONE
has to bear the cost to pollute less and NOBODY wants to do it. It almost
has to be the federal government setting the rules. Or you could let me do
it. I would just pick the areas where I could reduce pollution at the
lowerst cost.

I notice, too, that most states/cities that have emmissions checks on
vehicles cleaverly exempt the worst pollutors. A UColorado/Denver study in
1995 showed that over 80% of pollution (in the Denver area) was caused by
about 10% of vehicles, but under Colorado law, those 10% were largely
exempt).

I agree completely. I asked Willie Brown once why people with ****ty cars
had a right to poisen everybody and he really didn't have a good answer.

I stand by my earlier assertion that these aren't the major reasons why jobs
go offshore. I also think that we have to question your numbers particulaly
the $800B one. There are less than 100MM tax returns representing ~$4.5T in
taxable income filed in the US each year. I find it hard to believe that
$8,000 per family or over 15%$ of personal income is spent complying with
various regulations.

If I am looking to hire 1000 software engineers and they will cost ~100MM a
year in the US and ~20MM in India it really doesn't matter much what
additional regulations there are in the US.

BTW There have recently been articles in the Indian press bemoaning the loss
of manufacturing jobs to Vietnam!

Mike
MU-2