Blocking Outsourcing Will Do More Harm Than Good
from the not-so-easy-for-those-affected,-but-important dept
Last week’s post about tech jobs being outsourced received quite a reaction. It seems that this is the hot topic among techies these days. Here’s another opinion piece that says outsourcing is going to be much better for the economy, though, admittedly, it does suck for those who have recently lost their jobs. However, just like every other wave of jobs that got outsourced to foreign countries, the end result will be higher quality jobs at home. The transition period is very rough, but it allows the US to remain much more competitive. While some people love to complain about these things, the complaining doesn’t help them to keep their jobs. If people forced the US to stop outsourcing, it would make American companies less competitive on the world market – meaning they would end up going out of business themselves, costing even more jobs. Instead of complaining about the changing job market, it would seem to be a lot more proactive to work on ways to create new American jobs.
Comments on “Blocking Outsourcing Will Do More Harm Than Good”
Available New Jobs for Americans
Available New Jobs for Americans
7-11 employee
Gas station attendant
Trinket seller on Times Square
Subway sandwich store owner
Re: Available New Jobs for Americans
…just wait until blogging gets outsourced…
Re: Available New Jobs for Americans
You forgot Motel 8 employee !
Never recovered from previous outsourcing
America still has great stretches of economic wasteland known as the Rust Belt, which never recovered from previous waves of outsourcing. Back in the 1920s, Detroit was the Silicon Valley of the day, when auto manufacturing was big. Perhaps San Jose can look forward to becoming the Detroit of the 21st century.
Re: Never recovered from previous outsourcing
Take a look at what outsourcing of the Steel industry has done to the Steel Mills in the Ohio area if you want to see economic depression.
And recenty Levi’s announced they are closing their last American manufacturing plant in America.
What Mike fails to blindly see is that if Americans are not manufacturing anything and not providing any services either then there isn’t a whole hell of a lot of jobs left.
Re: Never recovered from previous outsourcing
But look what country has the biggest economy. its certainly not the countries that are making cars and steel (etc) for minimal cost.
As the article suggests outsourcing leads to evolution as people seek to find better industries.
Placing limits on outsourcing is, in the end worse. Its like developing a successful product and then sitting back and saying “I have an income stream to last me and my great-great-grandchildren”. Pretty soon the competition comes up with better products, your income stream is nothing and you may have no hope of catching up.
Sure it sucks for those involved. But the world moves on.
Re: Never recovered from previous outsourcing
The article makes sweeping generalizations with no facts at all to back up the statements. Not even some anecdotal evidence.
Historically, as jobs have been outsourced in various industries, higher-level jobs in other industries have sprung up to replace them.
How about some statistics. How many auto factory workers lost their jobs in the last 15 years, and what are they doing now? What higher level jobs do they have?
How many are now business executives, doctors, lawyers, and accountants? How many are living at or above their previous standard of living? How about some FACTS. How many are earning less now than they did before. How many can afford to buy the products that they themselves once manufactured?
middle man
i dunno from the perspective of the software industry america is becoming the ‘middle man’ and i can definitely see a point where the middle man will totally be removed from the equation and people will instead talk directly with india. and if that ends up being the case i can’t really see how it will help america.
Re: middle man
The death of the middle man is highly exaggerated. There are plenty of situations where middlemen make plenty of sense – usually as aggregators of information.
Second, if the end result leads to cheaper, better products, isn’t that good for the economy?
Re: Re: middle man
You’re assuming that the products will be cheaper and better. I know that currently there is a lot of backlash about the “customer support” being provided by outsourcing. And it’s not better.
It’s also an issue of corproate conscience. How long will the Indians work for $1/hr before they begin to realize “Americans made $50/hr doing this before, I want more money!” Of course the corps don’t pay and the Indians, instead of receving better, *equivalent* pay are kept at their current, pathetic standard of living, because what else will they do? Better to have the tablescraps than nothing at all.
The real issue is NOT Americans vs. Indians vs. any other third world nation. It’s not about the American economy. It’s not about cheaper, better products. It’s simply about fatter corporate balanace sheets.
No Subject Given
There are so many lies and false extremes associated with this topic that it makes sick. The truth is very simple – every economic policy in this world involves difficult trade-offs where some people benefit and other people are hurt. I am deeply disturbed by all the free trade purists running around acting like there is something righteous about eliminating economic borders since everyone will be better off. It’s just not true. Many people will be better off……and many people will be bitter, angry and unemployable. There is no clear and easy resolution where everyone wins.