As U.S. companies outsource work,
the owners of these companies definitely benefit now that they can provide lower wages and less restricting working environments to foreign workers. Meanwhile, the American workers and managers that helped these companies get how far they've come. Now they are left jobless as more and more of these types of jobs are depleted. Preventing outsourcing legally would infringe upon the individual rights of the owners. But, we as customers should seek business with companies that work to preserve domestic jobs.
Contrast this with the 19th century. This period was marked by the largest scale immigration the world has ever seen. Instead of the U.S. rushing jobs to workers elsewhere, workers were rushing to jobs here. The U.S. felt such a surge of arriving immigrants because there were jobs to be had and jobs to made. At the time it was because of economic inequality in Europe (those who migrated were generally poor, outcast, and/or looking for a better life) that immigrants sought this land.
As I said in my personal intro, I am a native of North Carolina, as are my parents. Historically, North Carolina has had a major portion of its economy based in textiles. However, because of cheaper labor forces in other countries, almost all of North Carolina's textile production has been relocated to countries like Mexico, India, and Pakistan. The businesses themselves may actually remain in the state.
A company in Duram, NC by the name of Mitts Nitts is one of the few exceptions. This company, which is actually owned by my uncle, sells on wholesale all of the clothing that it makes here on U.S. soil. Many clients are drawn toward the product lines of Mitts Nitts because of its domestic roots.
We need to have the attitude of these clients. Any company that is willing to keep jobs here in the U.S. is swimming upstream and they deserve reasonable support for doing so. I am not saying that I am a part of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. They admittedly don't even suggest solutions. I do recognize the problem, but I also have a solution in mind. It is my opinion that in order to turn this around, it will require individual initiative and changes in government policy. It would be blatantly unconstitutional to force companies to keep work on U.S. soil. However, we can make favorable climates for those companies who do remain domestic.
I actually came upon my next bit of information after I started thinking about my stance on this topic. It is from President Obama's State of the Union address, and it was surprising because I agreed completely with him when I usually do not. He said,
"We will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt
and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about
how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that's built
to last -- an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy,
skills for American workers and a renewal of American values."
His blueprint included a tax policy that rewards companies that create jobs in America and eliminates tax breaks for those who ship jobs overseas. An additional point I would add is to loosen restrictions on working condition codes, which Obama may not be in favor of, especially openly since he is running for reelection.
If we can redirect the current trend of outsourcing back to insourcing, we can reverse the widening the economic gap. Insourcing is what built this country and is what has maintained it. Maybe we could even have other countries outsource to us.
Also, be sure to view this link about how Apple outsourced its production to China.
Apple Outsourcing
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