Posted on 02/15/2005 6:44:11 AM PST by dennisw
"The Great American Job Sellout By Paul Craig Roberts
Americans are being sold out on the jobs front. Americans' employment opportunities are declining as a result of corporate outsourcing of US jobs, H-1B visas that import foreigners to displace Americans in their own country, and federal guest worker programs
President Bush and his Republican majority intend to legalize the aliens who hold down wages for construction companies and cleaning services. In order to stretch budgets, state and local governments bring in lower paid foreign nurses and school teachers. To reduce costs, US corporations outsource jobs abroad and use work visa programs to import foreign engineers and programmers. The American job give away is explained by a "shortage" of Americans to take the jobs.
There are not too many Americans willing to accept the pay and working conditions of migrant farm workers. However, the US is bursting at the seams with unemployed computer engineers and well-educated professionals who are displaced by outsourcing and H-1B visas. During Bush's entire first term, there was a net loss of American private sector jobs. Today there are 760,000 fewer private sector jobs in the US economy than when Bush was first inaugurated in January 2001.
For years the hallmark of the European economy was its inability to create any jobs other than government jobs. America has caught up with Europe. During Bush's first term, state and local government created 879,000 new government jobs. Offsetting these government jobs against the net loss in private sector jobs gives Bush a four-year jobs growth of 119,000 government jobs. Comparing this pathetic result to normal performance produces a shortage of 8 million US jobs. What happened to these jobs?
Over these same four years the composition of US jobs has changed from higher-paid manufacturing and information technology jobs to lower-paid domestic services. Why?
During this extraordinary breakdown in the American employment machine, politicians, government officials, corporate spokespersons, and "free trade" economists gave assurances that America was benefitting greatly from the work visa programs and outsourcing.
The mindless chatter continues. Just the other day Ambassador David Gross, US Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy in the State Department, declared outsourcing to be an economic efficiency that works to America's benefit. There is no sign of this alleged benefit in US jobs statistics or the US balance of trade.
Repeatedly and incorrectly, US corporations state that outsourcing creates more US jobs. They even convinced a New York Times columnist that this was the case.
The problem is, no one can identify where the US jobs are that outsourcing allegedly creates. They are certainly not to be found in the BLS jobs statistics. However, the Indian and Chinese jobs created by US outsourcing are highly visible.
On February 13, the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News reported that jobs outsourcing is transforming Indian "cities like Bangalore from sleepy little backwaters into the New York Cities of Asia." In a very short period outsourcing has helped to raise India from one of the world's poorest countries to its seventh largest economy.
Outsourcing proponents claim that US job loss is being exaggerated, that outsourcing is really just a small thing involving a few call centers. If that is the case, how is it transforming sleepy Indian cities into "the New York Cities of Asia"? If outsourcing is no big deal, why are Bangalore hotel rooms "packed with foreigners paying rates higher than in Tokyo or London," as the Dayton Daily News reports?
If outsourcing is of no real consequence, why are American lawyers or their clients paying $2,900 in fees plus hotel and travel expenses and two days' billings to attend the Fourth National Conference on Outsourcing in Financial Services in Washington DC (April 20-21)?
On the jobs front, as on the war front, the social security front and every other front, Americans are not being given the truth. Americans' news comes from people allied with the Bush administration or dependent on revenues from corporate advertisers. Displease the government or advertisers and your media empire is in trouble. The news most Americans get is filtered. It is the permitted news. Many "free trade" advocates also are dependent on the corporate money that funds their salaries, research and think tanks.
Another clear indication that outsourcing of US jobs is no small thing comes from the reported earnings of the leading Indian corporations that provide American firms with outsourced IT employees and engineers. During the recent quarter, Infosys' revenues increased by 53%, TCS grew by 38%, and Wipro was up 34%.
On January 1, 2001, Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp had one Indian employee. Today it has 10,000. Why? Because it can hire Indian university graduates for $240 a month, a sum that is a small fraction of the US poverty level income.
Many Americans think that an outsourced job is an existing job that is moved offshore. But many outsourced jobs are created offshore in the first place. On February 11, USA Today told the story of OfficeTiger, "the sort of young technology company that once created thousands of high-paying jobs in the USA, fueling sizzling economic growth." The five-year old startup business employs 200 Americans and ten times that number of Indians. The company has plans for hiring many more Indians to perform "tech-heavy financial services."
Under pressure from venture capitalists who fund new companies, American startup firms are starting up abroad. Thus, the new ventures, which "free trade" economists assured us would create new jobs to take the place of the ones moved offshore by mature firms, are in fact creating jobs for foreigners.
As a consequence, tech jobs in the US are falling as a percentage of the total. Clearly, tax breaks for venture capitalists are self-defeating when the result is to create jobs for foreigners, not for Americans. Why should the American taxpayer subsidize employment in India and China?
These developments have obvious adverse implications for engineering and professional education in America. The BLS jobs forecast for the next ten years says the vast majority of US jobs will not require a college education. University enrollments will decline and so will the production of PhDs as fewer professors are needed.
As India and China rise to first world status, the US falls to third world status where the only jobs are in domestic services.
This has enormous implications for the US balance of payments. Americans' consumption of manufactured goods is heavily dependent on foreign manufacture, whether that of foreign firms or that of US multinational firms that supply their American customers from offshore. How does an economy in which employment growth is concentrated in nontradable domestic services pay for its imports with exports?
Since 1990 the US has been paying for its imports by giving foreigners ownership of its assets. In the last 15 years foreigners have accumulated $3.6 trillion of America's wealth.
America has been able to pay for its consumption by giving up its wealth because the dollar is the world's reserve currency. As America's high-tech and manufacturing capabilities decline and its red ink rises, the dollar's role as reserve currency must end.
When the dollar loses its reserve currency role, America will not be able to pay for the imports on which it has become dependent. Shopping in Wal-Mart will be like shopping at Neiman Marcus.
Until recent years, US companies employed Americans to produce the goods that Americans consumed. Employment supported sales, and sales supported employment. No more. By their shortsighted policy of moving US jobs abroad, our corporations are destroying their American markets.
Economists give assurances that the dollar's decline and fall will bring jobs and industry back to the US. Once Americans are as poor as Indians and Chinese are today, the process will reverse. Multinational corporations will locate in America to take advantage of cheap labor and unserved markets. By becoming poor, the US can become rich again.
You might want to ask the economists and our "leaders" in Washington why we should put ourselves and our descendants through such a wrenching process."
--Jerry Leslie Note: les...@jrlvax.houston.rr.com is invalid for email
You have delusions of adequacy.
Where is the part about price controls? Where is nothing in that post about setting prices. Absolutely nothing.
You're actions are undermining the economy, the citizenry in general, the market and it's rules, national security as a result.. etc
Incorrect.
Freedom is the end, not the means unto the end.
"It wouldn't be that the reason you are waiting on the other job instead of taking those offered would be because it pays better and has better benefits and working conditions would it?"
Yeah, to some degree. Main thing being working condidtions, to me. The job I'm hoping to hear from would be pretty much a lateral move but with more responsibility and future opportunity than my last position. Career-wise, I'm just not ready to "move up" just yet but I want to be in a position where I can when I am ready. The company I am waiting to hear from offers that environment.
Geesh are you serious? How can one have something be illegal a not seek to control it?
If it is illegal to pay too low a wage what was the goal in making it illegal?
You seem to be mistaking epithets and ad-hominem for an argument - or maybe it's your version of "calling your lawyer" there, Baltar?
Ummm, ok children, this is econ 101.
Wages are the price of labor. Interest rates are the price of money. Now go home and read chapter two.
Wonderful, now where did I state that I was in favor of government setting to price of goods and services in the USA?
People call others traitors, and people who are fond of fantasy childrens' TV call it something else. Bizarre.
Sounds like the public schools need fixin too!
Please say yes, it would be a big step forward in your understanding of freedom and trade.
Looks like Protagoras has left the kitchen, too much heat?
Well, Galactica is hardly Children's TV. If you wish to comment, it might be helpful if you had a clue, so I'll constrain myself from labeling you properly and give you the chance to update yourself as You obviously are ignorant of which you speak. In any case, your retort doesn't pass for an argument, much less a defense.
Incorrect.
I'll just repeat what I said above, "In any case, your retort doesn't pass for an argument, much less a defense."
Freedom is the end, not the means unto the end.
Freedom was Baltar's excuse - freedom to diddle any female he wished. It just happens that he got to diddle her by giving her access to the defense mainframes on the cover story that she was looking for a contract to help support them. His profit motive was getting her in the sack. Yours is simpler - money. But you're doing the same thing the fictional character did. I picked that example not because it's the only one available; but, because I enjoy the show and the example is apparent to everyone that has thus far watched and discussed it. What he did was not blatent in and of itself, it is the culmination of his actions that becomes blatent and understandable as treason. And the same is true here. And at this point, you're arguing you should be free to pursue the blonde to commit the treason for the sake of the freedom rather than the treason. Sorry; but, that's not a sound national security position. We aren't talking about freedom of the Citezenry, their freedom is not impenged. You see national security as an impediment to your profit margins and prefer your profit. You just can't say that.
"Is it not one of the purposes of government to protect me from foreign nations? Why should I be forced into poverty by being forced to compete with labor rates that would be illegal in the USA?"
236 posted on 02/15/2005 1:29:49 PM EST by jpsb
Please show me where I stated I support govenment setting prices for goods or services in the USA.
You claimed I did, you claimed that makes me a Hillary socialist, now SHOW ME THE BEEF, where did I state I supported government price controls for goods and services.
You are a bizarre person and I have no idea what you have been babbling about.
Cool, where is the part about price controls.
"Is it not one of the purposes of government to protect me from foreign nations? Why should I be forced into poverty by being forced to compete with labor rates that would be illegal in the USA?"
236 posted on 02/15/2005 1:29:49 PM EST by jpsb
Now you say you don't support such laws? This is a great tap dance. Do you wear a little hat while you do it?
Now I am waiting to be shown where I stated I supported government setting the price of the DVD I would buy at (the great) wal-mart, if I shopped at wal-mart which I do not do by the way.
Your problem is that you are trying to equate a sales tax (duty/tariff) with government setting prices. It just ain't gonna fly I and you know it so you dodge and weave.
Show me where I stated I support government setting prices. Or admit the mistake and we can continue the discussion.
Oh sorry, I forgot your comprehension level concerning economics again.
Price of goods sold = all costs paid by the business to make and sell a product.
The government places regulations on businesses including minimum wage regulations, OSHA regulations, EPA regulation, Hiring practice Regulatations etc. all of which cost money to comply with and which go into the cost of goods sold column. Which raises the price of goods. Ergo Prices are affected and controlled a goodly measure by this government intervention. Do you support any of these government interventions?
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