VideoKate O'Sullivan, CFO Magazine
March 1, 2008
- three suggestions (including fixing the tax code!)
The US government definitely must take more regulatory action on the outsourcing of American jobs. It's a fine balancing act to keep our global cost competitiveness but by the same token I have seen US companies with no foreign competition still eagerly outsource overseas as many jobs as they can. My personal hot buttons where the US Government needs to step up and execute more regulatory action:
~Fixing the US Tax Code.
-US Corporations are encouraged by the US tax code to spend their money on overseas jobs rather than bringing the cash back for jobs in America where they will then incur US corporate tax hit.
~Establishing National Healthcare.
-High US healthcare costs borne by US Corporations are just another incentive for them to ship jobs out of the country. The government needs to keep twiddling its thumbs for years on end and actually get a national plan in place so corporations aren't responsible. Ironically, if US Corporations move more jobs overseas then this makes the US healthcare in more trouble for the US Government.
~Increase American ?Onshoring? in lower cost American regions.
-I think that there are many lower labor cost areas of the USA that can be more encouraged via policy to become ?onshoring? job areas. Stereotypical offshoring countries such as India are experiencing extreme wage increases and job turnover. With the right advertising and incentives, it would make sense for many US Corporations to establish ?onshore? work functions in lower cost US areas.
-J.Clark / CaliforniaPosted by Jason Clark | Mar 26, 2008 12:08 PM ET
- Self Cannibalization
This can be akin to slitting one's own risk as this practice grows and the economic impact in the US spreads. The quality of life has been and continues to be degraded by the economy and this will add to the drain of the purchasing power of the every day US middle and middle upper class worker. Domestic dependent companies that escalate this practice should be prepared for an ultimate backlash but it may be more with reduced revenues than social disorder. It could become a vicious circle as revenues decline and more offshore is utilized to offset the declines.
Posted by Jim Christie | Mar 25, 2008 10:49 AM ET
- Don't get too Comfortable
Call me the canary in the mine. Having been laid off from my technology job in 2001 and having struggled for the last few years to find a replacement job that pays a living wage and makes use of my BS in Biology and Physics, my MS in Physics and my MBA in Finance, I have become somewhat jaded that Corporate America has any intention to support the American system in which they currently enjoy doing business. This article only reinforces my suspicions as to where the American worker fits in with respect to the Corporate Big Vision thing. As far as I am concerned any company that is increasingly fixed on outsourcing every aspect of their business except the executive suite is now a drag on this country, not an asset. The strategy of outsourcing is NOT to create jobs for Americans. In my opinion, they are no longer an American corporation, but a foreign one, and as such, needs to be cut loose for national security reasons. Call it creative destruction.
I realize that Corporate America is actively working to suppress the American worker?s wages at all levels and by doing so gut the American economy by suppressing our ability to drive that economy with our purchasing power. I do not consider it a fact of life that any job I am currently applying for will be outsourced, and I will raise hell with any Presidential, Senatorial and Congressional candidate that seems to disregard the link between the American taxpayer and Corporate support through the use of tax abatements, subsidies, tariffs and other loop holes that Corporate America currently enjoys. As more jobs go overseas, and more people are laid off here at home I suspect there are going to be a large number of people who are going to set their sights on Washington to get the situation fixed as it is currently an unsustainable situation for the American worker. You may not pay attention to the anger building out here in the Middle Class, but I hear it everyday on the street, and I will continue to direct that anger at the source. We are no longer impressed by the too big to fail argument, after all you are not an American corporation anymore, and you can take your competitive advantage and stick it because it does not matter if you fail to us, as you are no longer any benefit to us. You do not hire Americans; you do not shoulder your fair share of the tax burden any more, so why should any of our tax dollars go to you? You really need to wonder how many other American out of work taxpayers are making the same connections as I am. As an American citizen who is only looking to be able to support her family and have a roof over her head, I have no desire to support any economic activity except those that benefit America. If I find a company that allows me to get a fair day?s wage for a fair day?s work then all the better, if not well then I will be productive one way or the other.
So by all means continue to gut the American Middle Class, treat the American worker at all educational levels as so much garbage, we are paying attention. We are ready for a change and the freaking party may well be over. I don?t really expect this response to your article to ever see the light of day; it obviously runs counter to your target audience?s expectations and belief system. But, backlash? You haven?t seen anything yet.Posted by Laura Wilkinson | Mar 3, 2008 6:19 PM ET
- Onshoring as outsourcing
"Outsourcing" can be onshore as well... my company is a "Rural" Outsourcing development in the Business Intelligence industry, offering remote-reporting capabilities from Billings, MT, for the same cost as offshore initiatives, but without a lot of the same barriers...
www.aboutbi.comPosted by Patrick Olp | Mar 3, 2008 10:48 AM ET
