But this isn't so bad: outsourcing used to be merely arbitrage (you made a profit just because you was here and your customer was there, buying on one market an

But this isn't so bad: outsourcing used to be merely arbitrage (you made a profit just because you was here and your customer was there, buying on one market and selling on the other - 'free money' in the sense that it didn't require much talent or ability to withstand competition to make). Now it's just a business just like any other: there is about as much chance to turn a profit operating a U.S. local software development shop or an offshore one. Prices you can charge and your costs will be still somewhat lower, because of all aforementioned factors like time zones, cultural and language barrier, and many offshore locations being legal grey zones where you can't really procesute anyone for say, stealing your secrets or violating your NDA. Every source of free money ends one day because too many people will try to get it, and this moment has arrived for offshore outsourcing, but it doesn't spell its death.