General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Robert Reich said it well in 2001. "We Are All Third Wayers Now" 4 common ideas at the core. [View all]abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)When all the VFX work suddenly moved out of Los Angeles there were unemployment officials trying to help people retrain but for people with degrees in computers, art and film and years of experience they were offering things like being a paralegal or nurse. They really didn't know how to match people with that skill set to any other. So most people just left and moved to the countries that the jobs left for. Those jobs didn't leave because there weren't any educated, skilled or experienced workers. They didn't leave because workers made too much money. They left because other countries offered subsidies of between 35 and 50 percent if the work was done in their country. How are workers supposed to compete with that? I often wonder what other industries have left the US for the same reason. Is it really fair to call those workers unemployable? Their work was just suddenly gone. Maybe the whole VFX thing was a one off, but now I'm totally suspicious of articles and pundits who claim there are people unemployable or unwilling to work having seen what happened to so many very talented and hard working people when their livelihood just picked up and moved overseas one day. Tonite the only studios up for the best oscar in VFX are from overseas. Anyway, I think the government tries, but they are just overwhelmed, understaffed and underfunded.