Outsource this:
Lots of jibber jabber about outsourcing in this election cycle, here's my worthless couple of rupees. Having traveled to India this summer to help out some schools and vacation, I talked to many people and found that outsourcing means economic opportunity for people across "the ponds." Let's take a closer look at this, goods and bads....
First statement I think is to realize that outsourcing has been done for years in the form of multinational corporations. Let's mention Bhopal for a second. Union Carbide was making fertilizers abroad for years. In an effort to scrimp a few cents, the disaster in 1988 blew apart deadly chemical tanks, sending a wave of gas through the town that killed roughly 40,000 people instantly. Is this a bigger tragedy than 9/11? Talking to chickenhawks and neocons, they say, "No,it's not a bigger tragedy, because it wasn't an attack." I say it was an economic attack. I'll try to stay on topic, but sanctions and multinationals doing things "on the cheap" in 3rd world countries, to me, is a form of aggression. The Bhopal "accident" has affected millions and continues to in the form of multi-generational birth defects. I feel that Bhopal was 20 times the disaster, roughly, mathematically, off the top of my head. We could go
While many people carp about foreign call centers, let's take a closer look at a specific instance which illustrates my point. I met a family whose son had been blown up while working in a fireworks factory. One of the daughters had lost a limb in the same accident. Most Americans might feel that they are stealing jobs, but ask yourself seriously, would you work in a factory with no OSHA standards where it's likely that you will be killed or maimed? Well, this is where most of the outsourcing of jobs goes, not just to jobs that "American's would do."
On a more personal note, I love other cultures, traveling and languages so I'm a little biased towards giving the truly underprivileged a step up. As George Orwell said, "to truly hate imperialism, you have to be a part of it." The sights, sounds and smells of a 3rd world country really makes one consider their role and humanity if they are receptive to self-analysis.
My other big point is that you can't have "everyday low prices" without outsourcing in some manner. Try to find a consumer item in Wal-Mart that is NOT made in China. So, it's America's choice, high prices with good domestic jobs or low prices and stuff made overseas. I personally like low prices....and as you have seen am a proponent of outsourcing.
If you want to take the poll, please add why you think outsourcing is good or bad for America.