Outsourcing the American Dream - San Diego Union Tribune op-ed

[question everything]

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Economists Ashok Bardhan and Cynthia Kroll of the University of California at Berkeley estimate that in July of 2003 between 25,000 and 30,000 IT (information technology) positions were outsourced to India alone. According to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, since 2001 "more than 500,000 people in IT professions in the United States have lost their jobs."

These staggering figures are just the beginning. A study of 400 of the nation's top 1,000 companies concluded that by 2006, between 35 percent and 45 percent of current full-time IT jobs will be sent overseas. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that of the almost 128 million workers in this country, 11 percent – or just over 14 million individuals – are at risk of having their jobs outsourced.

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The ramifications of outsourcing are staggering not only for individuals whose positions are terminated, but for the larger society. Unemployment and underemployment (working below one's level of skill and training) will contribute to a shrinking tax base, as already financially burdened city, county and state governments cut back personnel and services. In a nation where 15 percent of the population has no medical coverage, that figure can only increase as most people secure health insurance through their employment.

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High-tech cities such as New York, Boston, San Jose and San Diego are certain to be the big losers, while rural areas crippled by the loss of family farms have little chance of economic improvement. Suburbs with an employment base of "back office" activities (customer service personnel and medical transcribers, for example) can expect to see their labor force shrink. Why create jobs in Anytown USA when companies can employ people in Malaysia at a fraction of the cost?

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At the national level, neither Republicans nor Democrats have shown any inclination to deal with this problem, if in fact they even consider outsourcing troublesome. Both parties are more or less committed to "economic globalization," and job outsourcing is but one aspect of this phenomenon.

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Bryjak is a professor of sociology at the University of San Diego, currently on leave. He can be reached via e-mail at [e-mail].


Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/wed/opinion/news_mz1e4bryjak.html

[Fovea]

1. Vote Kucinich

Because the number of jobs being exported is untenable.