I doubt that a large amount of programming jobs will be outsourced to cheaper countries. Having a good understanding of the problem domain in the same language and time zone as the employer is extremely valuable.
I guess that local extremes for wages in areas with high living costs like in silicon valley will drop when it's possible to work remotely. But I don't see why rates would drop across the board as long as demand stays high.
> Having a good understanding of the problem domain in the same language and time zone as the employer is extremely valuable.
Sharing a common language is not a problem at all, nor is sharing (or meeting) in the same time zone.
I'd point the exact opposite regarding timezones, in fact. Not sharing a time zone means you can post a question to get yourself unblocked at the end of the day, and you'll already have the answer waiting for you once you log back next morning.
I guess that local extremes for wages in areas with high living costs like in silicon valley will drop when it's possible to work remotely. But I don't see why rates would drop across the board as long as demand stays high.