People who lose their jobs to outsourcing are the obvious and immediate victims of globalization. But there is a larger price being paid as well, as this letter in yesterday's Boston Globe makes clear:Read the rest of his post, and particularly the comment section. Corporate regulation needs to be addressed by us - and soon - for as Abi concludes, "colonialization and exploitation go hand in hand. If we don't recognize and manage this evolving, corporate-controlled globalism, we will all become its subjects."[I]t is all too obvious that India has become a colony for foreign corporations. If the Western world ever changes its mind about doing business in India, the consequences will be calamitous.It is time to stop pretending that corporations should enjoy the same rights and protections of a free society as you and me. Their actions have a profound effect on individuals and entire countries, yet they are responsible to no one but their shareholders and their bottom line.
UPDATE: Motherlode also has a great post about outsourcing as discussed on a recent Lou Dobbs show. Lou really blasted the president and then filled viewers in about the jobs of the future.
"So we thought you might be interested in knowing just exactly what those jobs in the 21st century are. And we wanted to use the most reliable source possible. We turned to the Labor Department. Well, here we go.Welcome to the future, boys and girls.
"Nursing assistants will be the fastest-growing job. The government says the job involves changing bed pans and offers low pay, little opportunity for advancement. As for education requirements, no high school diploma needed.
"And the restaurant industry proud to say it's a leader in job creation and the cornerstone of the nation's economy -- 12.5 million people, in fact, work in restaurants. Nearly as many employed in manufacturing. That, by the way, should please Gregory Mankue (ph), a professor at Harvard. He, of course, the president's economic adviser. He's the one who said making hamburgers should be classified as manufacture."
4 comments:
Yes people will always be willing to have some one else cook for them. I never realized this could be classified as 'manufacturing', but these are the same people who classified ketchup as a vegetable.
I read in the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago about how marketing projects for large American companies are being outsourced to India, saving corporations 30-40% over what would be paid if the project stayed within the firm. That's a huge markdown. So I'm pretty simple about this: The exploitation is invited not only by the unwillingness to pay what the work is actually worth but the availability of sell-out foreign firms willing to provide the markdown services. Tax preparation in India and computer support lines are other sad examples.
Exploitation is a mindset that transcends all borders and it seems we have forgotten what the early days of the labor movement were like...there was lots of violence.
I love your blog...I am going to sit for a bit and read...I also added you to my blogroll tonight...
Thanks for the compliment, Enigma, and for adding me to your blogroll. I'll be dropping by for a visit soon!
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