Outsourcing Jobs and USA's Greed

[Bong30]

Jobs are being out sourced....for company greed. Having to answer to stock holders. That one concern is the bottom line. Its bullshit. Some Out sourcing in a global market is one thing, but everyone jumping ship and running to other countrys and pay them 10% of what an American worker will work for....

Lower cost of labor

Price of Product or service remains the same

More money for the corperations......

we are not only outsourcing....we are INSOURCING....illegal imagration.

we are getting it from all sides...if the middle class can make it, it will be a miricle..

Bong30 Reviewed by Bong30 on 02-28-2007. Outsourcing Jobs and USA's Greed People in the United States (and more importantly, my mom) are getting fed up with outsourcing jobs to places like India and China. I asked her this when she went off on a nice 10 minute rant about how letting Virgin Airlines into the US commercial flight industry, "Do you support hunger in India and China?" What I mean by question is money/wealth is being stored up in the US and that is why we have a high standard of living. In India and China (Not the high-tech commercial parts) there is Rating: 5

[Mrs. Greenjeans]

Jobs are being out sourced....for company greed. Having to answer to stock holders. That one concern is the bottom line. Its bullshit. Some Out sourcing in a global market is one thing, but everyone jumping ship and running to other countrys and pay them 10% of what an American worker will work for....

Lower cost of labor

Price of Product or service remains the same

More money for the corperations......

we are not only outsourcing....we are INSOURCING....illegal imagration.

we are getting it from all sides...if the middle class can make it, it will be a miricle..

I usually stay out of the political forums, and I'm not generally in agreement with you Bong, but you've nailed it this time.

[Fengzi]

As usual, most folks really have no idea what they are talking about. Outsourcing is not as bad as people think it is, in fact, there are a great number of advantages that people don't see.

The U.S currently has a 4.6% unemployment rate, which basically means full employment. In other words, that 4.6% is largely made up of people who probably wouldn't want a job if you were to give it to them. Don't get exited, I'm not saying the entire 4.6% falls into that catagory, but a pretty good portion of them.

So, it's not like we have millions of people out of jobs because all the jobs are going overseas. Not at all. The jobs are going overseas because, in the big picture, it is what makes sense.

There is a basic principle in international economics which states that a country will excel in what it does best and that, for everyone's best interests, this process should be allowed to go largely unhindered. For example, country A produces a shit load of coal and another country B produces a shitload of rice, due to their natural resouces. Country A can produce rice if it wants, and country B can produce coal if it wants. Certainly that is what the rice farmers in A, and the coal miners in B, want. The problem is that to do so is not cost effective. It would cost much less for A to just import rice and B to import coal. Sure, some folks might temporarily be out of a job but eventually it will even out and in the long run both countries will be better off. So, to put it into the big picture, cheap labor jobs go to China because that is their best natural resource, not ours.

Ever wonder what would happen if all those overseas jobs came back to the U.S. What would happen if Nike suddenly had to pay U.S. minimum wage for shoe assembly instead of a few dollers a day? I don't know about you, but I don't want to take out a fucking loan for a pair of shoes. Contrary to what Bong says, the price of product or service does not remain the same. Not when you take a long term perspective and look at the big picture.

[Mrs. Greenjeans]

Contrary to what Bong says, the price of product or service does not remain the same. .

You know, you're right, the price does not remain the same.

It rises, and the profits go right in the bigwig's pockets.

Did you see in my post about how my fiance's company posted 24 billion in profits this fiscal quarter alone, from ONE division? This company has 15 divisions.

[higher4hockey]

i think outsourcing is jacked up. all it does is hurt middle america. not everyone can go to college and be a doctor or a lawyer or whatever else. there are a lot of factory workers that support their families by assembling ladders of making road cones. fuck outsourcing.


you can bet your ass that my tool box is filled with AMERICAN MADE stamped directly on everything.

[Fengzi]

You know, you're right, the price does not remain the same.

It rises, and the profits go right in the bigwig's pockets.

Did you see in my post about how my fiance's company posted 24 billion in profits this fiscal quarter alone, from ONE division? This company has 15 divisions.

What's the company Mrs. Greenjeans? Is it a publicly traded ? I'd like to take a look at their financials. Quite frankly, if only "ONE division" posted 24billion in profits,(in one fiscal qtr!!) I might just think of investing in them myself. Hell, HP and Apple combined on had a profit of $27 billion for the WHOLE YEAR. That's got to be one hell of a computer company your fiance works for.

People are just taking a micro view of the big picture. Like a little kid getting a shot. All they care about is that the shot hurts, not that it may protect them years later.

[Fengzi]

One other thing, don't confuse revenue with net profit. For example, General Motors had revenue of $206 billion in fiscal 2006 yet still posted a loss of close to $10 billion (ouch!!) Maybe they need to outsource a bit more

[Thepossumdance]

As usual, most folks really have no idea what they are talking about. Outsourcing is not as bad as people think it is, in fact, there are a great number of advantages that people don't see.

The U.S currently has a 4.6% unemployment rate, which basically means full employment. In other words, that 4.6% is largely made up of people who probably wouldn't want a job if you were to give it to them. Don't get exited, I'm not saying the entire 4.6% falls into that catagory, but a pretty good portion of them.

we are as you said very near full employment, but I would like to point out that this leftover unemployment is not from those unwilling to work.

This issue is less about the availability of jobs and more about salary. As we outsource specific tech jobs to other countries our nation experiences more "structural unemployment" These workers then must find less skill specific lower paying jobs. It is obvious that as jobs move overseas where companies can pay significantly lower wages, it puts great strain on the American worker's bargaining power when it comes to attempting to gain needed wage increases to keep the same standard of living he or she is accustomed to.

[Fengzi]

we are as you said very near full employment, but I would like to point out that this leftover unemployment is not from those unwilling to work.

This issue is less about the availability of jobs and more about salary. As we outsource specific tech jobs to other countries our nation experiences more "structural unemployment" These workers then must find less skill specific lower paying jobs. It is obvious that as jobs move overseas where companies can pay significantly lower wages, it puts great strain on the American worker's bargaining power when it comes to attempting to gain needed wage increases to keep the same standard of living he or she is accustomed to.

An intelligent response, yet still with a micro/short term view. I agree with your statement that outsourcing "puts great strain on the American worker's bargaining power when it comes to attempting to gain needed wage increases to keep the same standard of living he or she is accustomed to". At least for the short term. But not to outsource would do the same thing. If these jobs were all to come back to the U.S., either the workers salaries would fall, or prices for the goods they produce would skyrocket. Thus they'd be back at the bargaining table trying to get another raise to keep their standard of living consistant.

In the short term it really is a "damned if you do/damned if you don't " situation. But you have to look at it long term and as a constantly evolving situation. Any given job is just a resource, and as one resource leaves another comes in. People look at it like a car with no way to add new gas. They don't want to drive, because once the gas is gone the car is useless. But it's not like that. When you use the gas you put more in. When one class of jobs is gone, another will arise, and this will be one that we are more competitive at.

[Thepossumdance]

I have to say Fengzi i dont totally agree with you but I nonetheless respect your viewpoint and feel like you presented your arguement with about as much intelligence and foresight as anyone on either side would be able to...

Economics is an odd field its models are often times seriously innaccurate or poorly applied. Really only time will tell how this recent burst of outsourcing will effect our country.. I do however very much agree with you on innnovation providing the eventual relief for the american worker who finds him or herself in search of well-paying skill specific work... I just happen to think that this short term solution of cutting down on outsourcing will help cushion us until the next wave of innovation can provide true relief for the american work force