Offshoring American DreamWith globalization, moving labor in developing countries became the usual practice for big corporations in the 20th century. They use it to cut down the cost of production, and many workers in developing world are happy to be able to work and provide for their families. The companies are often vilified for exploiting the workers and providing poor working conditions. In the article "The Noble Feat of Nike," Johan Norberg shares his research on factory workers in Vietnam and offers their point of view on outsourcing. A young female Nike worker, whom Norberg interviews explains that the conditions in the factories are far better than in the sunny humid fields (18 ...view middle of the document...
While offshoring stimulates the economies in developing countries, it is robbing middle class families in America of their American dream.By definition, "offshoring" is the practice of moving labor outside the country according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Offshoring began by hiring low skilled cheap workers from developing countries, like China, in the manufacturing of apparel, toys and other everyday items. This allowed the American companies to substantially lower the price of their product and increase the production ("Offshoring"). These companies dominated the global market and the economy was thriving. Along with informational technologies advancement and globalization, companies were able to send high-skilled jobs in accounting, radiology, programming and customer service to India. India is a country with 1,102,900,000 population, according to the "Demography and Census-Taking" from Encyclopedia of India, that is fluent in English and people are willing to perform highly skilled work for very low wages. In 1990's jobs in IT were sent to India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, where workers received on average 13 percent of an American IT specialist's salary ("Offshoring"). This led to controversy over the benefits and disadvantages of offshoring for the U.S. economy, causing heated debates in the presidential elections.Those who support offshoring say that it has already benefited the American economy with increased production that stimulates the country's export power. Offshoring is necessary for the American corporations to be competitive on the global market. According to Timothy Taylor, in the article "In Defense of Outsourcing," "Producing more per hour is how the economy raises the average standard of living over time. U.S. firms have generated this remarkable productivity growth in large part by taking advantage of the gains in information and communications technology - and outsourcing is one mechanism by which this has happened"(370). Lowering prices of the production allow for higher export of goods to foreign customers, it also benefits the American customers, providing them with cheaper goods. Dominating the global markets provides high profits for the American multinational companies, leading to higher taxes paid on the higher profit and expansion of their operations in the U.S.Expansion in service, design, marketing and other industries that demand to be close to the customer is necessary to accommodate the higher population of consumers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2004 there was a trade surplus of $48 billion in services (Taylor 373). This means that when manufacturing jobs are moving abroad and products are more popularized, jobs in maintenance and support open. A television that was made in China will show cable programs in America and if it breaks it will be serviced here instead of sending it to the manufacturer. Some customers prefer buying new and improved model of the same product instead...
