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In the debate over outsourcing, one fact
is clear. Most companies believe they can save a tremendous
amount of money by shipping American jobs overseas. They
no longer see outsourcing as an option but rather as an
imperative. Consequently, as many as 14 million white-collar
jobs are vulnerable to outsourcing. By 2015, analysts forecast
that $151 billion in wages will be outsourced to foreign
workers. Even for highly skilled and specialized jobs in
technology, financial and legal services, and other disciplines,
a cheaper workforce is ready to be tapped somewhere in the
world.
But how much is too much? And how can we,
both as corporate entities and as a nation, create an environment
in which keeping more jobs at home otters clear benefits
to offset the obvious advantages of a lower-paid workforce?
The debate has become politicized and polarized
into a "yes or no" argument, which is pointless.
"The problem isn't so much that outsourcing is happening,"
the authors state, "as how it is happening." Outsourcing
America presents the facts and clarifies the many complex
issues presented by outsourcing: its impact on our jobs
and economic outlook, our national security and global standing,
and our future.
The authors identify the ten major reasons
employers send jobs overseas. Apart from lower wages and
salaries, companies benefit from favorable tax policies,
access to emerging markets, and other incentives -- including
the fact that companies face no penalty for destroying their
U.S. jobs. The book also articulates the profound effect
that outsourcing is having on educational and career trends,
and how developing nations like India and China are retaining
top talent that previously would have come to the United
States.
As bleak as the outlook may seem, there
are practical solutions that our policymakers can (and must)
implement to prevent unchecked outsourcing from seriously
undermining the economy, not to mention displacing millions
of working people -- many permanently. These policies are
designed by the authors to allow outsourcing to continue
as a strategic option while simultaneously limiting its
detrimental effects at home. They include reforming visa
and trade policies, overhauling training and assistance
programs for displaced workers, and reasserting our position
as a global leader in technology.
Outsourcing has indeed become a crisis,
but not because it is inherently bad -- it is both good
and bad. The key -- and the imperative -- is to maximize
its benefits while mitigating its many negative consequences.
Outsourcing America provides the necessary steps
to confront this snowballing challenge and bring more high-paying
jobs back to the US
Ron Hira, Ph.D., P.E., is a recognized
expert on outsourcing, and the only person to testify twice
before Congress on its implications. He has given more than
60 invited lectures on outsourcing to general, professional,
academic, and government audiences; has appeared on national
television and radio; and has been widely quoted in The
New York Times, Time, Newsweek, BusinessWeek,
The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times,
Times of London, and other publications. He teaches
public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, and
lives in Rochester, New York.
Anil Hira, Ph.D., is a specialist in
international economic policy and trade issues. He teaches
political science and Latin American studies at Simon Fraser
University in Vancouver, and lives in Burnaby, British Columbia.
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