Stop Offshoring
Thursday, April 19, 2007
There was some grumbling a couple of weeks ago because the H-1B limit had been reached. If you think raising the H-1B limit is a good thing and helpful to the American economy, you should read this article: Skilled Jobs Also in Danger.
In the article, Princeton economist Alan Blinder, a proponent of free trade, warns that 40 MILLION desirable jobs will be lost to offshoring in the next decade or two. Blinder was taken aback when "he heard U.S. executives talk enthusiastically about all the professional jobs they could outsource to lower-wage countries."
As for H-1Bs, the article suggests (and I agree) that companies are using it merely to train foreign workers so that they can return to their countries and continue doing the job. Isn't it ironic that the top companies applying for H-1Bs are outsourcers such as India-based Wipro?
Businesses like to argue that H-1Bs are necessary because there is a shortage of American workers to fill open positions. The article points out that, according to the law of supply and demand, that should imply that wages should be rising if there isn't enough supply. On the contrary, wages in the technology field have been flat.
If we let high ranking company executives brainwash us into thinking that offshoring is a good thing, the future of this country will consist of "a few rich U.S. executives commandeering armies of foreign workers."
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Amid all the news of more and more companies sending jobs offshore, a ray of sunshine appeared in the form of the city of Minneapolis. In a recent Computerworld article, Karl Kaiser, the CIO of the city, referred to offshoring as a "no-no". Kaiser isn't protectionist, citing that they buy products from around the world, but he realizes that sending his city's jobs abroad isn't necessarily in its best interests. Hooray!
