Boycott Outsourcing of American Jobs Overseas

Boycott Outsourcing of American Jobs Overseas

By Tom Flocco

PHILADELPHIA -- October 22, 2003 (TomFlocco.com) -- Earlier tonight, this writer experienced a direct example of how U.S. corporations are "exporting America," as CNN's Lou Dobbs so aptly describes it. Right after dinner, I called Bank One's credit card division to verify an item on my account. After waiting a few minutes to speak to a service representative, the phone connection was made. But I had a little difficulty understanding the thick accent; so I innocently asked the rep where he was from. He replied, "India." I said, "Really! Am I talking to you in India?" The man answered, "Yes."

As I thought about how Bank One Corporation was absorbing the cost of my long distance call to the other side of the world, I remarked to that citizen of India: "So you're one of those folks who is taking American jobs, not paying American federal or state income tax, social security tax or buying American products." He just chuckled back into the phone. It wasn't his fault. Here I was, actually talking to someone in a far-away country representing the stark reality of America's jobless "recovery"--what amounts to feel-good rising stock prices and gas costs dropping a few more cents.

I thought to myself: "We're literally bleeding jobs left and right--in all sectors of the economy and the country, most of our senators and representatives could hardly care--not even talking about the personal security risks of having foreignors having access to the private financial information of American citizens. This, while 2004 presidential candidates, Senators, and Congressmen have mostly danced around the issue--not wanting to step on the toes of potential corporate campaign contributors. What's happening? After that phone conversation, I started my own little private boycott. Right there on the spot, I cut up my Bank One credit card, and sent in my bill with a note for Bank One to cancel my account. I just can't support that company anymore. I decided to give my business to a different company--one which doesn't send American jobs overseas--yet!

I checked to see what was being written about the outsourcing problem in America, and found that the United States is losing control of important technology and production know-how, with incredible implications to our economy from losing higher-wage jobs--let alone many lower-wage service representative jobs that have quickly been drained from the U.S.

Peter Coffee of Eweek.com says "Intel Corporation has its largest design center outside the United States in Bangalore, India, where an engineer costs $8,000 a year instead of $50,000 in Silicon Valley. Texas Instruments plans to triple the size of its Bangalore unit in the next five years to 2,700, having started with only 10 engineers in 1999." And
Coffee never even mentions the loss of social security payroll taxes, and federal and state income taxes.

Bill Virgin of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer points out that "we taught [Japan] about quality. Detroit squared off against Japan on quality and the result was the rustbelt. In the 1990's, Watts Humphrey went to India and taught them about software quality. The increasing trends in Indian software engineering are shaping up to be the next Detroit vs. Japan."

Yes, there is the wage and technology problem. The question is, what do we do about it?
Should we be asking why our elected officials do not penalize corporations for "technically" locating off-shore to avoid paying taxes for business activity in America or for "outsourcing" jobs to foreign countries that result in lost payroll, federal and state taxes? Money which could be used to buy Kevlar protective vests or fresh water for Iraq.

Should we be considering why those we honor with power, paychecks, pensions and perks are selling out our country to corporate campaign contributors which help keep them in office?

So serious is the outsourcing problem that reporter Virgin's words tug forcefully at the heart of the problem:

"The 'sun will come out tomorrow' view says this is just another of the inevitable, unavoidable and painful downturns to which economies are subject. The more pessimistic view (like mine) says what we're seeing is much deeper, significant, long-lasting and worrisome than your standard-issue down cycle. Americans seem almost resigned to the notion that manufacturing jobs....are going away. It's not as if they haven't seen this for decades, in steel, autos, textiles and clothing and consumer electronics. But the trend is starting to eat away at what had been thought of as the last few bastions of American manufacturing prowess."

Sold Out By Their Own Congressmen and Senators
On September 3, 2003, President Bush signed the Singapore Free Trade Agreement; but just six weeks later, Carrier Corporation, manufacturer of air-conditioning and refrigeration products, announced that it was closing its DeWitt, New York plant near Syracuse, and laying off 1,200 workers. And yes, most of the jobs are relocating to China and Singapore--not to mention critical technology related to national security that will come back to bite us eventually. Tragically, these New Yorkers were sold out by Democrat Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton who sided with George W. Bush.

Interestingly, both House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX), and also Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) from New York's working class neighborhoods, co-sponsored the Singapore and Chile Free Trade bills which the President signed in September.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), speaking on the Senate floor on July 28, revealed a new twist to exporting American jobs: "Included in those agreements [Singapore and Chile] are proposed changes to U.S. immigration and naturalization laws that would create what is effectively a permanent visa worker program for Chile and Singapore."

Byrd added that "The trade agreements negotiated by the administration would unfairly lower the threshold for up to 1,400 [professional worker] Chileans and 5,400 [professional worker] Singaporeans to obtain American jobs. These foreign nationals could renew their worker visas indefinitely, year after year, with no limitation, while additional foreign workers enter the country to fill the annual numerical limitations for new visas....Chilean and Singaporean nationals who enter the United States under these agreements would effectively be exempted from prevailing wage laws." And this is every year!

More importantly, this new immigration bill which so profoundly affects American jobs also requires the entry of spouses and children accompanying or following to join these professionals without limitation, thus permitting any number of family members to come.
Thus the question is begged as to why these jobs could not be offered to millions of taxpaying American professionals who have lost their positions recently.

But the real kicker in the Singapore-Chile bill legislates that these professional workers need not be citizens of the two countries; in other words, they can be from anywhere as long as they are working for a company located in Chile or Singapore. And no one discusses the propects of a company having offices in a country that sponsors terrorism. Such is the kind of legislative oversight currently emanating from the halls of Congress.

What are responsible Americans to do? I checked out my legislators. My congressman, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), voted to allow immigrants from Singapore and Chile--and ostensibly other unknown countries with offices in those two countries--to come to the United States and take jobs away from American citizens. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) voted likewise; but Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) voted to protect American jobs. Do you know if your legislators sold out their American constituents? Will you sit back or do something about it? Send us your stories. (see above) Who are the elected culprits?

It is our sons and daughters who will be affected in the future--but our friends, relatives and neighbors who are affected now, even as our own elected legislators sell out our jobs to foreignors.

We better start paying attention to this issue and consider some good old-fashioned legislative "house cleaning," or there won't be many good jobs left. This, as our jobless recovery is kicking in just in time to re-elect America's number one free trader, George W. Bush--and a coterie of like-minded republicans and democrats who continually employ their powers of persuasion to mislead Americans regarding their allegiance to protection of U.S. jobs.

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