Global Sourcing

[Icepick]

My employer has asked me to work with people offshore (in a third world democracy in Asia ) to train them to perform some of the work I'm responsible for. I've been complying because I want to stay employed. A thought continues to pull at me that what I'm doing is actually contributing to the detriment of America.

I do believe that American corporations have no business hiring people overseas to displace American workers. My employer stated that there WILL be job cuts in our U.S. workforce as the Asian workforce grows AND there will be no new jobs created in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. This bothers me because there are plenty of hard working people right here in the U.S. who need good jobs. If I refuse to take part in the Sourcing activities then I'll lose my job. The thing is that I have a family to feed.

Is the role I'm playing really unpatriotic or am I turning this into a larger issue than it really is?

For those who don't know what I'm talking about here's what I mean by sourcing:

Outsourcing: Hiring a contracting firm and transferring work there while firing employees.
Sourcing: Opening a satellite office outside of the U.S. and hiring workers from there while reducing the U.S. workforce.

 

[shoegazer]

You could always think of it as providing jobs to people who probably need the money a lot more than the vast majority of Americans. They are people too.

 

[daniel1113]

No. In a free market, such actions would be beneficial to both parties.

 

[Jeff7]

Do you buy things that originated outside your municipality? Do you buy things that originated from outside your state?
How about if you were working with a Canadian company? Or a German one?

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Icepick
My employer has asked me to work with people offshore (in a third world democracy in Asia ) to train them to perform some of the work I'm responsible for. I've been complying because I want to stay employed. A thought continues to pull at me that what I'm doing is actually contributing to the detriment of America.

I do believe that American corporations have no business hiring people overseas to displace American workers. My employer stated that there WILL be job cuts in our U.S. workforce as the Asian workforce grows AND there will be no new jobs created in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. This bothers me because there are plenty of hard working people right here in the U.S. who need good jobs. If I refuse to take part in the Sourcing activities then I'll lose my job. The thing is that I have a family to feed.

Is the role I'm playing really unpatriotic or am I turning this into a larger issue than it really is?

For those who don't know what I'm talking about here's what I mean by sourcing:

Outsourcing: Hiring a contracting firm and transferring work there while firing employees.
Sourcing: Opening a satellite office outside of the U.S. and hiring workers from there while reducing the U.S. workforce.

While corporations enjoy the benefits of our society ,vis a vis their "existance"as an "entity", they are only interested in their profit , or own good, to the detriment of ANY OTHER PERSON, place or thing.

If an actual human being were to display those traits, we would label them "sociopathic" and depending on the extent of their social transgression, remove or reduce their ability to effect Society.

A corporation, on the other hand, is under no such constraint and in fact, has been able to affect the electoral process through their immense campaign donations to an extent a real person could never hope to acheive.

Eisenhower had it right.

 

[Throckmorton]

Americans aren't any more important than any other people. It's always free market this, free market that... until your job gets outsourced on the free market.

 

[punchkin]

Of course it's unpatriotic-- unless you view the goals of our society to be making rich corporations richer at the expense of American citizens, or to make poor people around the globe richer at the expense of American citizens. Or, I guess, unless you just don't give a crap about the economic welfare of American citizens. :thumbsup:

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
No. In a free market, such actions would be beneficial to both parties.

Yes, because we don't live in a free market world and other countries are taking advantage of the U.S.

 

[punchkin]

You may feel it's unpatriotic when the workers you've just trained take over your job, and you're fired. That's the sort of thing that sort of tends to solidify one's opinion a tad. Hope it doesn't happen to you.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

... except that average American citizens do not compete on an equal footing with the super-rich, and certainly not with corporations. Hence capitalism as it exists today has nothing to do with patriotism. Perhaps you could expound on your ideas a little.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

Patriotism and Capitalism have nothing to do with each other.
In fact, Capitalism can thrive and compete globally within a Communist structure.

Please Google CHINA if you have any further questions....

Nothing is more antithetical to The American Way (Patriotism) and growing the American Middle Class than an unregulated, socially disconnected, Corporatistic Capitalist Social structure.


When "dollars" spent by a corporation outweigh the best interests of "America", the system has been corrupted.

The America of history books is gone.
It has been replaced by a similar product, wholly owned by foreign interests.

 

[BoomerD]

Asis evidenced in our political process, We The People, has been replaced by We The Corporations...

I'm one of the very few who go out of my way to buy Made in the USA. Sometimes (most of the time) it costs me more to buy American made as compared to Chinese, but I think America and American workers are worth a small premium. Yes, many categories I have ZERO Made in the USA options. Computers, televisions, hell...any electronic device...ALL Made in China...so, I accept that, like it or not, and do my best to buy American when and where I can. ALL my clothing is either Made in the USA, or at the very least, made in a free country. AFAIK, NONE of my clothing is Made in China.

I'd support the idea of eliminating any tax benefits to a company that "outsources" its labor...I don't care if it's customer support to Lahore, India, manufacturing to China or Mexico, or accounting to Bum-Fuck, Egypt...Once a corporation starts sending its jobs to a foreign country, it's no longer an American corporation, and they should lose ALL tax breaks, tax credits, taxable deductions, etc.
Of course, I realize our politcal process is so corrupted by corporate $$$ that such a thing will NEVER happen...

 

[Epic Fail]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

Patriotism and Capitalism have nothing to do with each other.
In fact, Capitalism can thrive and compete globally within a Communist structure.

Please Google CHINA if you have any further questions....

The current China economy has nothing to do with communism, it only started succeeding after the introduction of capitalism.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: yamadakun

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

Patriotism and Capitalism have nothing to do with each other.
In fact, Capitalism can thrive and compete globally within a Communist structure.

Please Google CHINA if you have any further questions....

The current China economy has nothing to do with communism, it only started succeeding after the introduction of capitalism.

yeah, I know they're voting .... when is their primary again? </sarcasm meter calibration>
Get back to me when they're not a Communist Military Dictatorship, mmmkay?
You make my point precisely.

 

[Epic Fail]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: yamadakun

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
there is nothing more patriotic than capitalism and a free market economy.

Patriotism and Capitalism have nothing to do with each other.
In fact, Capitalism can thrive and compete globally within a Communist structure.

Please Google CHINA if you have any further questions....

The current China economy has nothing to do with communism, it only started succeeding after the introduction of capitalism.

yeah, I know they're voting .... when is their primary again? </sarcasm meter calibration>
Get back to me when they're not a Communist Military Dictatorship, mmmkay?
You make my point precisely.

Look up the definition of communism...

 

[FoBoT]

isolationism didn't work in the 20th century, it won't work in the 21st century

 

[JS80]

I love how people who aren't trained in Economics think they are experts in global trade. FACT: global trade benefits BOTH countries involved. It may in the short term displace some workers but the country as a WHOLE benefits. OPINION: OMG THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!! OMG UNPATRIOTIC OUR COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN.

Study international trade theory then come back to discuss.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: JS80
I love how people who aren't trained in Economics think they are experts in global trade. FACT: global trade benefits BOTH countries involved. It may in the short term displace some workers but the country as a WHOLE benefits. OPINION: OMG THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!! OMG UNPATRIOTIC OUR COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN.

Study international trade theory then come back to discuss.

... or you can start by grabbing a healthy dose of common sense, and reading and thinking a bit to understand what people are saying. Only a dumbass thinks that lining the pockets of the rich in a hugely disproportionate way benefits the American people as a whole. Only an insulting ass would tell people to bone up on trade theory to be able to refute such idiocy.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: JS80
I love how people who aren't trained in Economics think they are experts in global trade. FACT: global trade benefits BOTH countries involved. It may in the short term displace some workers but the country as a WHOLE benefits. OPINION: OMG THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!! OMG UNPATRIOTIC OUR COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN.

Study international trade theory then come back to discuss.

... or you can start by grabbing a healthy dose of common sense, and reading and thinking a bit to understand what people are saying. Only a dumbass thinks that lining the pockets of the rich in a hugely disproportionate way benefits the American people as a whole. Only an insulting ass would tell people to bone up on trade theory to be able to refute such idiocy.

you lost your job to some foreigner didn't you

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: JS80
I love how people who aren't trained in Economics think they are experts in global trade. FACT: global trade benefits BOTH countries involved. It may in the short term displace some workers but the country as a WHOLE benefits. OPINION: OMG THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!! OMG UNPATRIOTIC OUR COUNTRY IS GOING DOWN.

Study international trade theory then come back to discuss.

... or you can start by grabbing a healthy dose of common sense, and reading and thinking a bit to understand what people are saying. Only a dumbass thinks that lining the pockets of the rich in a hugely disproportionate way benefits the American people as a whole. Only an insulting ass would tell people to bone up on trade theory to be able to refute such idiocy.

you lost your job to some foreigner didn't you

Nope. But I can see the destruction of the American dream when it is absolutely obvious. I was in software engineering during the decline, but I thankfully was never without a job.

I have never heard it explained to me how allowing corporations to seek wealth at the expense of American workers is good for America. Someone who thinks that global outsourcing is good for America doesn't understand the forces facing a "displaced" worker. Do you know the costs of a college education, the likelihood of losing a house etc. due to many years of lost earnings, etc.?

Someone who loses their job because a company abruptly decided to outsource is boned, pure and simple. The company doesn't help because it affects their bottom line, which is the reason for outsourcing in the first place. Corporate officials making the decisions have an incentive not to care about the fate of the workers they "displace".

More money in the coffers of the rich does not aid Americans in general, or at least not enough to offset what Americans lose to the rich in these situations. To look only at the aggregate financial stats of the whole country as an indication of health of the American citizen is ludicrous.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: Icepick
My employer has asked me to work with people offshore (in a third world democracy in Asia ) to train them to perform some of the work I'm responsible for. I've been complying because I want to stay employed. A thought continues to pull at me that what I'm doing is actually contributing to the detriment of America.

I do believe that American corporations have no business hiring people overseas to displace American workers. My employer stated that there WILL be job cuts in our U.S. workforce as the Asian workforce grows AND there will be no new jobs created in the U.S. for the foreseeable future. This bothers me because there are plenty of hard working people right here in the U.S. who need good jobs. If I refuse to take part in the Sourcing activities then I'll lose my job. The thing is that I have a family to feed.

Is the role I'm playing really unpatriotic or am I turning this into a larger issue than it really is?

For those who don't know what I'm talking about here's what I mean by sourcing:

Outsourcing: Hiring a contracting firm and transferring work there while firing employees.
Sourcing: Opening a satellite office outside of the U.S. and hiring workers from there while reducing the U.S. workforce.

While corporations enjoy the benefits of our society ,vis a vis their "existance"as an "entity", they are only interested in their profit , or own good, to the detriment of ANY OTHER PERSON, place or thing.

If an actual human being were to display those traits, we would label them "sociopathic" and depending on the extent of their social transgression, remove or reduce their ability to effect Society.

A corporation, on the other hand, is under no such constraint and in fact, has been able to affect the electoral process through their immense campaign donations to an extent a real person could never hope to acheive.

Eisenhower had it right.

:thumbsup: