Today I had to call my American Express card in order to settle a problem with my reward points. I have had an American Express card for over 10 years and we use it for all our monthly expenses.
Within the past several years American Express has moved a portion of their customer service Department to India. Yes, this is legal, yes companies are doing it everywhere. However, it is being done for one reason and one reason only- to save money. Cheap labor, no unions and no "whiny why don't I have dental insurance complaints." It saves these companies hundreds of millions of dollars to outsource.
Here in the United States companies of ALL types (not just agriculture as Repubs. like to say) use undocumented workers to do the job at a cost substantially less then most Americans would accept. However, here is the real difference. Thousands of undocumented immigrants here in the United States buy their clothes. their food, pay for cable, rent apartments, rent houses, pay for gas and use public transportation. In other words undocumented immigrants are an important cog in our existing economy. So, tell me what is better/worse for our economy outsourcing or undocumented immigrants?
Everyone knows or has seen undocumented workers doing work around their town/city. I live in a small town and see the work these folks do, day in and day out. I also see them at Walmart, Price Chopper and at my favorite Chinese Food Buffet. They ARE part of our community and contribute financially to our community just like my family.
After my phone call with India last night I realized once again how unfair, hypocritical and mean this country can be to brown people, how this bill in AZ is really just one step closer to solidifying institutional racism in the good old USA.