Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Wash.): "U.S. won't stop outsourcing to India"

siliconindia ^ | Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | IANS

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

U.S. companies will continue to outsource jobs to India to cut costs despite a move by some American states to curb flight of government contracts, said Congressman Jay Inslee.

NEW DELHI: "People are worried about job security in the U.S. and therefore it is not terribly surprising to find a few people who will oppose outsourcing to other countries," said Inslee, a member of the Democratic Advisory Group on hi-tech issues.

"Some people may support the promulgation of legislation to ban outsourcing but the majority of U.S. industry and policymakers are not in support of creation of new trade barriers," Inslee, who is on a visit to India, told IANS in an interview.

"I don't think it (a ban on outsourcing) is going to happen. We want to keep our doors open. I believe any effort to restrict market access will adversely impact the U.S. economy. The policy of protectionism will not take us anywhere.

"For any economic growth to occur, a country needs to add more value to its products without increasing the cost and outsourcing to India helps U.S. companies do exactly that," added the Congressman.

The Indian government has reacted sharply against four American states -- New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington -- reportedly proposing to ban outsourcing of government contracts to companies outside the U.S.

Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley said the move was against the principle of market access and India was placed on "high moral ground" to take it up at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations.

The New Jersey Senate had unanimously cleared a bill on December 16 preventing public enterprises in the state from outsourcing work, specifically to India. State Senator Shirley Turner had proposed the bill.

The bill prohibited public enterprises from shifting their call centres abroad for "cheap labour" with a view to creating more jobs for Americans as the unemployment rate in the U.S. had soared.

The bill was taken up for discussion by the Senate Committee in February this year but couldn't be passed and has now been put on hold. It is now likely to be discussed in the Senate next month.

Close on New Jersey's heels, other states like Washington and Connecticut are also reportedly mulling a ban on outsourcing contracts to India.

Inslee, a representative from the First Congressional district of Washington, however said there was no move in his state to introduce a bill that would make outsourcing difficult.

"Ours is a trade-oriented state and we will not take any step that goes against the principle of market access. Our ability to access other markets will diminish if we ourselves block access to the U.S. market. Trade is a two-way street."

India's vast pool of English-speaking and cheaper manpower, educational system and training programmes have helped transform the country into a global outsourcing superpower over the last few years.

India's software exports grew by 29 percent to $7.5 billion in the year to March 31, 2002, with some 60 percent going to the U.S.

The country's rapidly growing business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has virtually turned it into an electronic housekeeper to the world, taking care of a host of routine activities for multinational giants.

More than a quarter of Fortune 500 companies like General Electric, American Express, British Airways, HSBC and Citibank are shifting their back office operations to India.

Inslee, who is a part of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said Indian technology companies and professionals in the U.S. have played a very important role in the American economy.

"Indians in the U.S. have created tremendous intellectual capital and helped in the growth of the knowledge economy."

[Willie Green]

Another corrupt congresscritter actively demolishing the livelihoods and standard of living of American citizens.

Link to the vermin's congressional website.

[TopQuark]

Wow, what choice of words, Willy. You must be Green with anger.

I live in New Jersey, one of the states mentioned. It appears you want me, a citizen of the state, to subsidize overpaid workers here just because they are Americans. They are not subsidizing me, why should I subsidize them?

[henderson field]

I don't think you understand, Willie, that when all those people in Illinois lose their jobs due to outsourcing, Congressman Inslee won't be affected in the least. He couldn't care less about them. And he'll get his lucrative pension whether they live or die.

[RogueIsland]

It appears you want me, a citizen of the state, to subsidize overpaid workers here just because they are Americans

You already subsidize them when they collect unemployment after their jobs have been offshored.

[onedoug]

Outsource Congress too.

[grb]

It appears you want me, a citizen of the state, to subsidize overpaid workers here just because they are Americans

Just how would you be subsidizing someone?

[pwatson]

"I don't think it (a ban on outsourcing) is going to happen. We want to keep our doors open. (And allow all jobs to leave the usa) I believe any effort to restrict market access will adversely impact the U.S. economy. The policy of protectionism will not take us anywhere. (yes but it will prevent you from taking jobs to India)


When no one is left in the USA to pay taxes and all factories are in China and Internet has all customer service, billing and office work done in India people will suddenly wake up. Henery Ford had it right you need a well paid middle class to have money to by his cars. When no one is left except Lawyers, Dentist, Doctors, and Government Workers people will find there is no money left to hire them either. For an economy to work people need to have income and a source of wealth.

[samuel_adams_us]

Don't stop outsourcing IT to foreign countries, it will surely bring you down in the next few years as terrorist organizations start up software companies in India and other countries, take our work from us, raise our unemployment levels and then right back door and bugs into the software our american companies are running so that they can bring down our financial systems completely. I guess you don't remember the romans did the same stupid thing you are talking about and it brought down their entire civilization. Just how secure are you knowing your bank accounts are being handled by foreign companies and foreign software that you cannot hold accountable as we dont' have jurisdiction in those countries? Just how smart was your statement and how smart is your stance? You have covered your head but left your butt hanging in the wind.
Sincerely,

xxxxxxxxxx

[samuel_adams_us]

email I just sent to the idiot congressman.

[pwatson]

As a reply to my reply, I just talked to my friend a buyer at my former employer Alcatel. He said by the end of the year he will be out of a job because they will have outsourced 100% of all manufacturing and purchasing, much of it back to the Frogs in France. The Richardson Telecom here in Richardson Texas has now lost something like 200,000 engineering, management and manufacturing jobs permanently in 2 years. Every block has 3 houses for sale on it and 2 that were for sell and now say for rent. But with no one moving into the area from corporate relocations or new jobs they then have foreclosure signs up front. I know much of this is the popping of the Internet bubble, but mostly shadows are left of:
ADC Telecommunications
Alcatel Telecom U.S.
CYRIX Corp
DSC Communications
EDS
Ericsson
Fujitsu Communications Inc.
Hewlett-Packard-Convex
Honeywell-Micro Switch
Intervoice, Inc.
MCI Network Services
NORTEL
Raytheon E-Systems
Rockwell International Corp.
Samsung
Siemens
Southwestern Bell Telephone
Texas Instruments

[Ten Megaton Solution]

You already subsidize them when they collect unemployment after their jobs have been offshored.

Well, the solution to this problem is obvious...get the government out of the employment "insurance" racket and let the worker buy his own policies.

[Willie Green]

They are not subsidizing me, why should I subsidize them?

As long as they're employed taxpayers, who's to say that they aren't subsidizing you???

Of course, if you prefer that they have lower paying jobs with smaller tax payments (or worse, no jobs and go on unemployment and welfare), then that's your shortsighted myopia, not mine.

[PoisedWoman]

lost something like 200,000 engineering, management and manufacturing jobs permanently in 2 years

My TX friend whose hubbie works for Nortel is sweating it out right now. And my daughter, who works for Verizon in Idaho, expects to be laid off, if not this summer, then within two years. There are few other jobs up there. Thank God her hubbie has a gubmint job or they'd be facing foreclosure and other assorted ruin.

Leftie Jay Inslee is my congressman. A very effective speaker, he has the libs here wowwed even as he sends their jobs overseas.

[CIBvet]

Some Americans are so selfish and arrogant, and care so little about the future of our nation, that they won't 'get it' until it's their job that gets shipped overseas, or until it's their son-in-law's job moved to Meheco, or until it's their 55yr old mother who finds herself out in the street because Dad's job has been moved to China, and they can't meet the mortgage payments, even working double-doubles at 7-11.

Who cares, as long as you've got yours, right?

Mr Top Quack feels secure that he'll be able to hold onto his position in the ...

...I'VE GOT MINE CLUB ( so screw the rest of those 'little people')

[EagleMamaMT]

My field (medical transcription) is rapidly being outsourced to India. It is killing our wages and job market. My wages have fell back to what I was making in 1991, and at that time I had benefits. Now, I have none. Thank God for my hard-working husband's willingness to work lots of overtime. Now, maybe that's not so secure, either, since the Government is trying to gut the labor laws. Tough times for working class folks!

[Willie Green]

My wages have fell back to what I was making in 1991, and at that time I had benefits. Now, I have none.

GW Bush and Robert Zoellick have embraced global Klintonomics, enabling the future implementation of Hillary Healthcare. They will achieve this by exporting private sector jobs that currently pay health care benefits. Domestic companies will no longer be able to provide such benefits and the nanny state will step in.

[TopQuark]

What a silly comparison: a few unemployed vs. millions of overpaid --- what's cheaper?

[TopQuark]

American workers are much more productive in output per hour than anyone else. If such a worker produces 10 widgets and gets $20/hour and a Malaysian worker produces only 5 widgets and gets $4/hour, the costs are $2 and $0.80, respectively. If you make me --- by law, for instance, --- buy the American good, as a consumer I spend $1.20 more that I should have, for each widget I buy. That is how one subsidizes an overpaid worker.

[Campion]

What's "overpaid"? Indian IT workers work for 8 to 10k per year. Know any Americans who support families on 8 to 10k per year without welfare? I don't. How much do you make? More than 10k per year? Why aren't you "overpaid"?

[TopQuark]

As long as they're employed taxpayers, who's to say that they aren't subsidizing you???

I am to say: my job is not being outsourced.

We cannot speak of each individual, of course. The point was made with regard to sectors. When steel industry was dying, it was not dying everywhere: the unions killed it. Now the programmers --- hot shots of the last two-three decades --- are so overpaid on average that their jobs are being sought elsewhere.

There is another source of that phenomenon --- the lack f personal responsibility, which seeped into the legal system as "not-my-fault" liability judgements. Our jobs are made very expensive as a result of insurance, which Indian workers do not demand.