IT companies hire lobbyists to address anti-offshoring sentiment in US

[ChromeFoundry]

Source: Economic Times of India

25 Jan 2010, 0630 hrs IST, Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: Melanie Carter-Maguire and Robert Hoffman are regulars at Capitol Hill, rubbing shoulders with lawmakers to try and influence events at the centre of US power. But the two lobbyists have perhaps their toughest assignments yet, as they brace to drum up support for their companies on immigration and outsourcing, high-strung issues in the US after the Great Recession.

Ms Maguire, who was hired by India’s third-largest software exporter Wipro last week, and Mr Hoffman, who joined as first vice-president of global public policy last year at Cognizant, another top IT company, have been entrusted with pushing their companies’ cases in a key market where the public outcry against outsourcing is getting shriller by the day.

India’s $60-billion technology services industry, which has had a largely uninterrupted run in its key market, has recognised that political lobbying is the need of the hour to educate local lawmakers about the economic benefits of outsourcing, after ballooning unemployment has exacerbated the cry against foreign tech companies. The task has been made more difficult by the US jobless rate galloping to double digits. US policymakers are under pressure to tighten immigration norms for protecting local jobs in software programming, call centres and legal paperwork.




Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/ites/IT-companies-hire-lobbyists-to-address-anti-offshoring-sentiment-in-US/articleshow/5496616.cms

[babylonsister]

1. It's going to get worse now-thank the SC. nt

[OhioChick]

2. What a fucking surprise....

:sarcasm:

[marasinghe]

3. there was a quaint word for this kind of thing, back in my youth.

selling your own people down the tubes for money, was known as 'treason', i believe. guess i'm just too dated for this new global paradigm.

[DesertDiamond]

13. Thomas Jefferson said, "Merchants have no country." IOW, we are not their fellow citizens.

We are ants to be stepped on.

But never fear. In the end, we, the common people, will change our collective karma and win over the dark forces.

[Skittles]

4. Carter-Maguire and Hoffman can fuck themselves

economic treason :puke:

[notesdev]

8. Agreed

hope they end up dead in some alley somewhere

[Skittles]

14. I wouldn't go that far

but I believe what goes around comes around

[Lance_Boyle]

20. Really - they couldn't find any nice, cheap H1B lobbyists to do this?

I bet Gupta and Singh could lead this lobbying effort MUCH more efficiently.

[PSPS]

5. No problem. They can just buy enough legislators to make the "problem" gp away!

[Double T]

6. SOLUTION: Get rid of every incumbent lawmaker in 2010 and 2012.

NO exceptions. NO excuses. Change will never be brought about my reelecting THOSE that created, enabled and supported our job, economic and financial DISASTER. Start the REVOLUTION in the voting booth, THEN if necessary move IT to the street. Remember, lobbyists are a lot of ugly things; most specially traitors.

[rox63]

15. The lobbyists would just see all the new congresscritters as "fresh meat"

[w4rma]

17. That is not a viable solution. (nt)

[bluestateguy]

7. Lobbying is not an honorable profession

If I was a member of Congress I would refuse to meet with or talk to a lobbyist.

[Lasher]

9. Foreign lobbyists.

I wonder how many countries allow foreign lobbyists to engage their lawmakers in such a manner.

[Yavin4]

11. None. India In Particular

No one can just come there and start working.

[sakabatou]

10. I wonder how many years ago these lobbyists sold their souls to the devil

[w4rma]

19. If they are Indian lobbyists then they are only helping their own nation. (nt)

[Sherman A1]

12. Well, in a sense that would be some job creation as the lobbyists would

at least have some employment for a bit. I wish them nothing but failure in their assignment, but at least it is some money coming into the US.

[fasttense]

16. Oh those Americans just don't like us shipping their jobs away.

So, we hire American traitors, I mean lobbyists to convince their government that shipping American's jobs away is really a good thing.

And you think an underestimated government manipulated unemployment rate of 10% was high. Hah, hah.

[Brickbat]

18. Outsourcing: Economic terrorism.

Lobbying for it: Economic treason.

[OhioChick]

21. Kick for the Lobbyists....

:eyes:

:kick: