My feeling is that outsourcing is more an ethical issue for those parties who already have production facilities in the U.S.
Here's what I mean. In my business model, I have to maintain competitive in term of manufacturing costs. I cannot rely on economies of scale. Therefore I have to do what I have to do in order to get off the ground.
I have never had any employees or American contractors handling production. Therefore I believe that it is ethically permissible to outsource.
Having said that...
I believe that companies that do possess economies of scale and thus outsource to increase profits have a responsibility to compensate those who helped them get to where they are. That means buyout packages, retraining, and/or promoting/transferring from within in order to minimize the collateral damage that comes with tough business decisions like outsourcing.
Most companies, however, will claim their outsourcing is not so much of a business decision as a requirement for survival. Perhaps it is in some cases. But that doesn't relieve companies of their responsibility to adequately compensate a long-term worker. These companies have an obligation to issue stock options or some other incentive package to exiting workers.
The idea is that when we do better, you'll do better. Maybe we don't have the capital now to do right, but in the future we will, so don't sit by the phone, but hold on to the options.
Lucent is a perfect example of a company that was in real trouble and had to make tough business decisions to survive. They could've issued options to layoffs and today everybody would be compensated fairly because the stock is about five or ten times higher now than it was at rock bottom (and for all I know that's what they did).
My point is that you shouldn't frame the issue as just another awful exploitation of the American worker. There are varying rationales for outsourcing. New businesses outsource for competitive advantage, established businesses outsource to remain competitive, struggling businesses outsource to survive.
The question is not so much about the process itself, which is here to stay. The question is about what compensation plans established companies choose to incorporate in order to make the process right with their workers and their communities. The other relevant issue for discussion involves tax equity issues that a company like mine needs to incorporate into our business models in order to make the most attractive production and labor decisions.
It is simply unwise to simplify the issue of outsourcing.