In addition, there are a couple concerns when branching out to other countries:

Currency exchange means some can work at a discount compared to USD

Government subsidies hoping to diversify their economy may even pay partial salaries

Strong social safety net in other countries means companies may not need to pay for health benefits for remote workers

That strong social safety net does not fall from the sky. People in those countries just pay higher taxes instead, so if you want your employee to have the same net income, you need to increase the salary.

My American friends always rant about the high income taxes in Sweden. But my taxes include health insurance and I pay essentially nothing for kids' daycare, school and university. For people without perfect health and with kids, the total pay is worse in the U.S.

Those properties lead to inefficiencies for the workforce. Pollution negatively impacts the health of a population, including mental health. Lower taxes lead to less reliable infrastructure. And there are probably other non-obvious benefits to having a workforce living in a developed country.

Western Europe and the USA have maintained a huge advantage over the world. I wouldn't be so confident about that advantage disappearing. Much like wealthy people today are much more likely to have ancestors who were wealthy, I think people born in developed western nations are going to continue to enjoy competitive advantages over others for many more generations.

It goes both ways:

* I'm online at the same time as my coworkers, you don't respond until the next business day.

* I can travel to any business location next day, you need a visa application.

* Your continued employability is subject to geopolitical risk, but California isn't sanctioning Ohio any time soon.

* I can handle sensitive data and technology, your country is subject to export controls.

* I develop rapport with customers, you don't understand the slang used in support tickets.

It also makes many parts of the world less effective. Air and water pollution can significantly impair brain function and cause stress on employees

Funnily, except for the pollution part, most of your items on the right seem more attractive from a quality-of-life point of view than those on the left. Flying to Disneyworld sounds like a nightmare I would never (willingly) do, but a trainride to the seaside is always nice.

Haha I have to admit I wasn't sure of his point at that stage. Taking a train to the seaside sounds sort of romantic. Flying to Disneyland sounds sort of rote. I still get the point but it is amusing.