MoveOn.org Voter Fund | Title: "Burgers"

NARRATOR: “You put in thirty years at the factory. You get good pay, health care. Then they send your job overseas. And under George Bush, the company actually gets a tax break for doing it.”

Only 2 Percent Of Layoffs Were Due To Foreign Outsourcing. “Shifting jobs overseas accounted for only a tiny fraction of U.S. job losses in the first three months of the year, according to a first-ever report released … by the Labor Department. … About 2 percent of the major layoffs in the first three months of the year stemmed from companies moving jobs offshore, either on their own or through hiring another firm to do the work, the Labor Department found.” (Ken Moritsugu, “Report: Offshoring Is Minor Factor In Job Loss,” San Jose Mercury News, 6/10/04)

Experts Say There Is Not “Serious Cause For Concern.” “Ravi Aron, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, says the numbers confirm that fears about a massive exodus of U.S. jobs are overblown. ‘This is not very surprising,’ says Aron, who studies the practice, commonly known as offshoring, in the services industry. He notes that moving operations abroad is not a simple activity and is risky. ‘I don’t think there is a real serious cause for concern’ for U.S. workers, he says. ‘There is a natural limit to outsourcing.’” (Barbara Hagenbaugh, “U.S. Layoffs Not A Result Of Offshoring, Data Show,” USA Today, 6/11/04)

Robert B. Reich: “Offshoring Is Not At The Heart Of The Matter … I Don’t Think It Is A Major Part Of The Job Picture.” (Eduardo Porter, “Not Many Jobs Are Sent Abroad, U.S. Report Says,” The New York Times, 6/11/04)

Foreign Companies Are Bringing Jobs To America. “‘The debate about outsourcing is essentially about globalization,’ said Todd Malan, Executive Director of the Organization for International Investment. ‘The media has focused on one facet of globalization: outsourcing. But the flip side of “outsourcing” jobs abroad is “insourcing” jobs to the U.S. from companies based abroad,’ Malan stated.” (Organization For International Investment, “‘Insourcing’ American Jobs Lost In ‘Outsourcing’ Debate,” Press Release, 2/13/04)

ü In 2001, 6.4 Million American Jobs Were Supported By Insourcing. “U.S. units of foreign companies employed 6.4 million so-called insourced jobs in 2001, up from 5.1 million in 1996 and 4.9 million in 1991.” (Bureau Of Economic Analysis Website, “Employment of Affiliates, State by Selected Country of UBO, 2001,” www.bea.gov, Accessed 3/11/04; Joel Millman, “Foreign Firms Also Outsource -- To The U.S.,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/23/04)

Last Year, Foreign Investments In U.S. Businesses Doubled. “In addition to hiring more U.S. businesses to provide services, foreigners doubled last year the amount of money invested in U.S. companies, plants, offices, stores and other facilities. That foreign direct investment swelled to $81.98 billion in 2003, from $39.63 billion in 2002, the government said.” (Michael M. Phillips, “More Work Is Outsourced To U.S. Than Away From It, Data Show,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/15/04)

In 2003, The U.S. Exported (Insourced) $131.01 Billion Of Services. “The value of U.S. exports of legal work, computer programming, telecommunications, banking, engineering, management consulting and other private services jumped to $131.01 billion in 2003, up $8.42 billion from the previous year, the Commerce Department reported Friday.” (Michael M. Phillips, “More Work Is Outsourced To U.S. Than Away From It, Data Show,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/15/04)

The U.S. Imported (Outsourced) Only $77.38 Billion Of Services. “Imports of such private services -- a category that encompasses U.S. outsourcing of call centers and data entry to developing nations, among other things -- hit $77.38 billion for the year, up $7.94 billion from 2002. Measuring imports against exports, the U.S. posted a $53.64 billion surplus last year in trade in private services with the rest of the world.” (Michael M. Phillips, “More Work Is Outsourced To U.S. Than Away From It, Data Show,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/15/04)

“Supports” American Businesses Taking Jobs Overseas. “Benedict Arnold does not refer to somebody who in the normal course of business is going to go overseas and take jobs overseas. That happens. I support that. I understand that.” (Jerry Seib, John Harwood and Jacob Schlesinger, “Excerpts From An Interview With John Kerry,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/3/04)

In December 2003, Kerry Recognized You Can’t “Just Stop” Outsourcing. “Well, any candidate for president who stands up and tells people, as some are, that they’re going to just stop [outsourcing] by getting tough on trade or whatever, is lying to the American people. Outsourcing is particularly painful at this moment because we haven’t been creating jobs, and we haven’t been creating jobs to some measure because of the overhang of the 1990s, the excess capacity that we were left with and the need to sort of burn it up.” (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Council On Foreign Relations, New York, NY, http://www.cfr.org/campaign2004/pub6576/john_kerry/making_america_secure_again:_setting_the_right_course_for_foreign_policy.php, 12/3/03)

Kerry Has Been Labeled “Primary-Conversion Protectionist.” (William Safire, Op/Ed, “The Edwards Surprise,” The New York Times, 2/18/04)

Alan Greenspan Said Protectionism “Will Make Matters Worse.” “‘The protectionist cures being advanced to address these hardships will make matters worse rather than better,’ [Greenspan] said.” (Martin Crutsinger, “Greenspan Warns Against ‘Protectionist Cures’ To Deal With U.S. Job Losses,” The Associated Press, 2/20/04)

Protectionism Could Cause Americans To Lose Jobs. “Greenspan said that, ‘protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.’” (Martin Crutsinger, “Greenspan Warns Against ‘Protectionist Cures’ To Deal With U.S. Job Losses,” The Associated Press, 2/20/04)

Instead, Need To Help American Workers Develop Skills To Be Competitive. “‘[W]orkers will need to be equipped with the skills to compete effectively for the new jobs that our economy will create,’ Greenspan said.” (Martin Crutsinger, “Greenspan Urges Care On Employment Issue,” The Associated Press, 2/20/04)

Efforts To Restrict Outsourcing Could “Provoke Retaliation By U.S. Trading Partners.” “‘If you try to protect and limit outsourcing, you will have a negative impact on the exports of service activities, which generate a lot of jobs,’ said Catherine Mann of the Institute for International Economics, a Washington policy research group.” (Michael M. Phillips, “More Work Is Outsourced To U.S. Than Away From It, Data Show,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/15/04)

Kerry Corporate Tax Plan Could Cause Corporations To Move Entire Operations Overseas

Kerry Plan Wouldn’t Stimulate U.S. Hiring. “As for the Kerry plan, David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor’s, says … it [is] unlikely that Kerry’s tax policy changes would bolster hiring here, even with major changes in the tax code.” (Peronet Despeignes, “Candidates Offer Competing Plans For Job Creation,” USA Today, 3/26/04)

U.S. Corporations Would Have More Incentives To Move HQs Overseas. “Gary Hufbauer, an analyst at the Institute for International Economics … said the plan would become an invitation for corporations to shift assets into foreign-owned entities to avoid losing tax breaks for work done overseas. U.S. companies also would have an incentive to relocate their headquarters abroad to take advantage of tax breaks offered by foreign governments, he said.” (Bob Davis and John Harwood, “Kerry Targets Job Outsourcing With Corporate-Tax Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/26/04)

Plan Would Weaken Hiring In U.S. “But former Bush White House chief economist Glenn Hubbard said the Kerry plan would weaken U.S. multinationals and cause them to hire fewer staff for headquarters and research and development in the U.S. ‘It’s nutty,’ he said …” (Bob Davis and John Harwood, “Kerry Targets Job Outsourcing With Corporate-Tax Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/26/04)

NARRATOR: “Now Bush says we’re in a recovery. And after a year, you finally land another job. And you wonder, is this what you worked your whole life for? We’re not being lead, we’re being mislead.”

First Quarter GDP Revised Up To 4.4 Percent Growth. “U.S. economy grew a touch faster in the first quarter than first thought as businesses scrambled to restock depleted shelves … U.S. gross domestic product -- which measures total output within the nation’s borders -- expanded at an upwardly revised 4.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said. … A solid gain in consumer spending, which drives about two-thirds of U.S. GDP, accounted for more than half of the growth in the first quarter. The department said consumer spending rose at a revised 3.9 percent pace, a bit faster than first reported. Over the last four quarters, U.S. GDP has risen 5 percent -- the strongest advance since 1984.” (“GDP Bumped Up Amid Slim Profit Rise,” Reuters, 5/27/04)

248,000 Jobs Created In May, Nearly 1.2 Created In 2004. “U.S. employers added … 248,000 jobs in May … The May tally exceeded Wall Street expectations for 216,000 new jobs and followed an upwardly revised total of 346,000 jobs in April and 353,000 in March. The 947,000 jobs created in the March-May period made it the strongest for any three months in four years. … The unemployment rate remained at 5.6 percent in May, unchanged from April. Virtually every major sector of the economy added jobs in May, from retailing to construction industries. Particularly notable were 32,000 new hires in manufacturing -- a fourth straight monthly increase and the biggest for any month since August 1998 when 143,000 manufacturing jobs were created, the department said. Nearly 1.2 million jobs have been added since the start of the year, adding fodder for a campaigning Bush to blunt Democratic criticisms fueled by the slow recovery from the 2001 recession.” (“Jobs Growth Unexpectedly Strong In May,” Reuters, 6/4/04)

Unemployment Rate Down In 46 States Since Year Before While Employment Increases In 44 States. “Compared with April, unemployment rates were lower in 18 states, higher in 22 states and the District of Columbia, and unchanged in 10 states. … Unemployment rates were down over the year in 46 states, up in 2 states and the District of Columbia, and unchanged in 2 states. … From April to May, total nonfarm employment increased in 36 states, and decreased in 14 states and the District of Columbia. … Over the year, employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 5 states, and remained unchanged in 1 state.” (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, “Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: May 2004,” Press Release, 6/18/04)

Household Wealth Reaches Record $45.153 Trillion. “U.S. household wealth grew to a record-high $45.153 trillion in the first quarter of 2004, boosted by rising real estate and mutual fund values, the Federal Reserve said … In its quarterly ‘Flow of Funds’ report, the Fed said household balance sheets rose $665.5 billion over an upwardly revised $44.488 trillion figure for the fourth quarter of 2003 …” (“Household Wealth Reaches Record $45.153 Trillion,” Reuters, 6/10/04)

2 posted on 06/23/2004 3:30:01 PM PDT by samiam1972 (Live simply so that others may simply live!)

I just cut and paste this info (most of it) into 2 seperate emails and e-mailed it to a group of freinds and family that may not be paying attention as much as I am.

I think a lot of my friends have stopped reading my longer emails about politic or all things newsworthy so I cut out the Kerry parts of this RNC pub and just titled one email "Bulk of outsourced jobs never leave america" and the other "Economy gains steam; jobs being created."!

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