outsourcing question- can anyone answer this?

[tooncesj0nes]

Clinton signed NAFTA ..but why is outsourcing such a hot topic the last couple years?- in other words, did * sign something that opened the outsourcing floodgate?....

[dryan]

1. Apparently....

from what I understand the US Tax code was changed to make offshoring more attractive.

[dryan]

2. Apparently....

from what I understand the US Tax code was changed to make offshoring more attractive.

[trotsky]

3. AFL-CIO has some data on the tax bill, S.1637

http://www.aflcio.org/yourjobeconomy/jobs/ns03312004a.cfm

[Robert Oak]

4. * turbo charged the disaster, yes

Clinton did start this debackle and Bush has supercharged it.

Bush has refused to enforce or file complaints about China to the WTO
on behalf of manufacturers and his trade representative has been pushing through as many trade agreements as possible. This article gives
an overview, but believe me this is NOT good! We have a record trade deficit. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/23/EDGCS8T3U01.DTL

Why ooutsourcing is such a hot topic:

Because for the 1st time in history, almost any professional service
can be done in a 3rd world nation for much cheaper. This means
that attorneys, engineers, scientists are easily replaced for cheaper
labor, even when they have MDs and PHDs. this is the "race to the bottom" and says almost any American has no security or stability
in a career. It takes about 11 years to obtain a PhD from the beginning of college, so it's absurd to think a PhD should "retrain" since they are an expert in their field...

Before cheap telephone and Internet services needed to be local
and the "goods of production", i.e. ideas in this case, could not
be sent around the globe in a nanosecond. Lack of mobility of goods
of production is one of the assumptions necessary for comparative advantage to work (this is the basis of free trade theory).

What this means is the entire middle class can be fired and cheaper
foreigners hired in 3rd world nations to do the work...
so what America becomes is a country of the ruling elite and the
poverty striken masses, taken to it's conclusion.

See my website for my articles, books, analysis on why this is a critical issue.

[napi21]

5. This explains a big piece of it.

Tax cuts boost joblessness, encourage outsourcing

By THEODORE SETO
Published on: 03/29/2004



Why, economists ask, is this recovery jobless? No one seems to know. But the answer is right there in the Bush tax acts, which many economists have apparently never read.


Almost any business task can be performed using more labor and less capital or less labor and more capital. We learn in Econ 101 that if government doesn't intervene, business will choose the most efficient alternative. But what if government intervenes? What if it puts its heavy tax thumb on the "more machines, fewer workers" side of the scale?

Answer: Instead of using two workers and one machine to do a given job, business will use two machines and one worker

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0304/29equal.html?UrAuth=aNaNUObNUUbTTUWUXUUUZTZU`UWUcU`UZU\UcUcTYWYWZV

[sandnsea]

6. Treaties not enforced

At all. In addition, one of the first things Bush did after 9/11 is lift sanctions on India. Interestingly enough, Carlyle had investead heavily in India tech between 1998 and 2000. Bush isn't even trying to increase the standard of living in 3rd world countries, enforce human rights or environmental regulations. It's robber barons international, that's what it is.

[Vincardog]

7. Bush negotiated NAFTA Clinton signed it into law. NAFTA is not

the problem the LOW Wage Conservatives want us to think there is a level playing field. There is not. The Chinese are NOT playing FAIR. The Indians are NOT playing FAIR. The US Government is not enforcing it's side of trade agreements. We are being sold out to the Fascist Corporate interest and have to stop it now.

[Robert Oak]

8. NAFTA is discussed because it's results can be traced

NAFTA has a 10 year history now and it's results can be directly traced...
and it's NOT good for either Mexican workers (and of the biggest
reasons we have an epidemic in illegal immigration now) and American workers. The ones who made out were the few controlling elite in Mexico and US multinational corporations.

I agree the China PNTR as well as the India trade agreements are much much worse for us. China pegs the Yuan (keeping it's currency artifically low so everything is dirt cheap, including workers) and India has been using the US Visa program to obtain a comparative advantage against the US as it's long term goals.

I have quite a bit of info on my website. I try to pull the most
objective, academic analysis of the issues I can find to point out,
economically, logically, bottom line dollar, these policies
are just short term robber baron policies and no one wins long terms.

It's net effect is to accumulate money and power in the hands of the elites (multinational corporations).

[sangh0]

9. bush*'s eco advisor - Mankiw (I think that's his name)

said outsourcing is a Good Thing.