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By Ken Williamson American companies have repeatedly outsourced American jobs to Third World countries for over twenty years now. That practice has been amplified over the last eight years. Factory jobs were the first to go, but over the last
eight years the practice has turned to white collar jobs like software engineering jobs, insurance claim processing jobs, and even accounting jobs. Most of these displaced workers are college educated, but are often forced to accept low paying jobs just to survive. Well, so much for getting a good education. American companies are forgetting one small and important thing; with little money and no credit, Americans stop spending. And that is the very essence of the economic downturn that very well may become a depression and it's all perpetrated by greedy American companies. Take for example Joe the software engineer. Joe has a master's degree in Computer Science and ten years of experience. But in an effort to increase profits and allow for larger executive bonuses, Joe's employer decided to shut down its software development division in Chicago and open a new division in India. In India, they were able to hire software engineers for a fraction of what they paid Joe. So, Joe went job hunting.
But guess what Joe found when he ventured out on his new job hunting quest. Joe found that he was not only competing with all the other out of work American engineers, but he was also competing with less qualified guest workers from India, Pakistan, China, and other Third World countries. And these guest workers were willing to work for a fraction of Joe's previous salary. And here is the real kicker, most of Joe's job interviews were actually conducted by employees who were themselves guest workers. Isn't that ironic? A citizen of a foreign country, a guest worker in the United States, actually got to decide whether or not Joe was offered an American job in America. Something is very wrong with that. Things have certainly changed in the last eight years.
Well, needless to say, Joe didn't get any job offers. I guess Americans just want too much money. So, what did Joe do, you might ask? Well, Joe ended up accepting a three month contract job with no benefits. After buying health insurance for his family, Joe ended up with half his previous income.
Three months later, Joe was job hunting again. By that time, there were more guest workers competing for each job and willing to work for even less. As Joe and his family struggled to make ends meet, Joe was forced to charge more and more on his credit cards while he waited for American jobs to come back to America and be given to Americans. But that never happened.
Joe ended up losing his house, his car, and just about everything else. Joe now rents a small apartment and managed to buy a ten year old car that constantly needs repairs. Joe and his family scrapes by each month just barely surviving. Well, who needs the American dream anyway, right?
Now consider Jane, the health insurance claims processor. Jane routinely handled confidential personal information of the customers who filed health insurance claims with her employer. Last month, Jane's job was outsource to India in a cost cutting move initiated by company executives in an effort to secure executive bonuses. Now the same confidential personal information that Jane handled is now in the hands of employees in India. And you wonder how identity theft happens.
What has actually happened here? Well, in effect, greedy American companies have practically transformed the United States into nothing more than a Third World country itself. With the lack of enforcement of immigration laws and the huge influx of guest workers, Americans are struggling to hold on to any resemblance of what was once the American dream. And with recent events, many Americans may not survive this crisis.
Unfortunately, our government and American companies misunderstand one simple point. When Americans have no money and no credit, they stop spending. When they stop spending, company profits go down. When company profits go down, companies can't pay their bills. When that happens, we have exactly the situation that we have now, more layoffs. Contrary to what Ben Bernanke thinks, this economic downturn will not go away in three or four months. In fact, this crisis will most likely turn into a depression by mid 2009. It will get much much worse before it gets better.
So, what is the answer to this problem? Well the answer is very simple really. Bring American jobs back to America, severely limit the guest worker programs, and start enforcing immigration laws. That's all it takes. It's just that simple. It's not rocket science.
When Americans have good paying jobs, they will once again feel good about their futures. When they feel good about the future, they will start spending money again. When Americans start to spend money again, the economy will start to recover. It's just that simple. But greedy American companies just don't get that.
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