Has America's Reign Supreme Been Tarnished by Bad Bets of Wall Street?

*YES
The federal government et al continuing to think that its bailout of banks and its useless cash for clunkers and housing credits for first time borrowers, not to mention so called mortgage modifications, are leading to a bridge to nowhere and faster than they realize. If you can't get a job that will pay a decent wage, then you can't afford the governments useless stimulus. So stop paying your creditors and taxes until they let it all crash, wipe all of our slates clean and let us all start over!
With Fewer U.S. Opportunities, Home Looks Appealing to Expats
More Foreign-Born Professionals Are Finding Better Jobs, Lower Unemployment Abroad; 'I've Had Headhunters Calling'
wsj.com
By DANA MATTIOLI
With unemployment at 10% and prospects for finding work bleak, foreign-born professionals who came to the United States in search of better job opportunities and prosperity are now retreating.
Foreign-based companies, particularly in Asia, are using the employment picture in the U.S. as a means to lure former residents home. This comes as a welcome respite for professionals who've experienced layoffs, underemployment and visa issues.
Vivek Wadhwa, a senior research associate at Harvard Law School who has studied these trends, says frustrations about the lack of advancement in the U.S., where salary and promotion freezes have become the norm, are a significant factor in foreign-born professionals' heading home.
HSBC Bank International's 2009 Expat Explorer survey found that 23% of U.S.-based expats are considering returning home, compared with 15% elsewhere in the world. The most frequently cited reason was increasingly limited career prospects, according to the survey of more than 3,100 expats, defined as anyone over 18 living outside their country of origin.
Regina McAnally returned to Germany—with her 15-year-old son Josh—after 22 years in the U.S. after her opportunities for advancement were limited. She now tells friends to consider the making the same move.
Many of these workers have become dissatisfied with their compensation or advancement opportunities in the U.S. and perceive better opportunities back home or in other parts of the world.
Regina McAnally, a native of Frankfurt, moved to the U.S. in 1985 but found herself back in Germany in 2007 after the company she worked for as an accountant faced difficulties and her opportunities for advancement became slim.
Ms. McAnally, who never visited her home country during her 22 years in the U.S., now works as a financial analyst with an automotive company in Cologne. She uprooted her son, then 15, to Germany as well.
Ms. McAnally says in the U.S., she was unable to find a job despite numerous applications. Not so in Germany. "Since I've been here I've had headhunters calling me at work trying to hire me away," she says, adding that her new employer paid for her overseas move.
Michael Burda, a professor of economics at the Humboldt University of Berlin, says while unemployment is at 7.6% in the country overall, the majority of the unemployed are unskilled.
"I keep telling my friends in the States you need to look for a job here; there's no job shortage if you have a college degree," says Ms. McAnally.
Margaret Morand moved to New York from Australia seven years ago and worked for cosmetics company L'Oreal S.A. in its New York offices. Three years ago she left the company to freelance as a color specialist and handled responsibilities like writing color manuals, working photo shoots and marketing brands. In late 2007, however, work began to slow and by April, securing jobs became much more difficult.
Ms. Morand began applying for full-time positions locally and in Florida and Los Angeles, where she had business connections, but to no avail. In August she returned to Australia. She says she'll miss the energy of New York, the seasons and Central Park. "It's just sad," she says from her parents' home in Melbourne.
Still, with the unemployment rate at 5.7% in Australia, Ms. Morand considers the career opportunities in her home country better. "Certainly compared to New York [the outlook] doesn't appear to be as critical," she says.