Reply #29: 'Outsourcing' vs. 'Off-shoring'...There Is A Difference For The US

[Johnny Harpo]

I have been in I.T. for a long time and have lost so many jobs to 'Outsourcing' and 'Off-shoring' that I have lost count.

But there is an important difference.

'Outsourcing' is when 'US' Company 'A' hires 'US' Company 'B' to do the work.

This happens often in IT and other industries and is not quite as bad as Off-shoring because it usually means US citizens will continue to be employed.

'Off-shoring' is when US Company A hires another company, from another country, who then sends the work outside of the US to be completed.

Lets call 'Off-shoring' what it really is...Sending US jobs to India!...Where the work is done for far less labor costs then here in the US.

While 'Off-shoring' may save money in the short term, the down sides of Time Difference - Culture Difference - Language Barrier all usually combine to produce an inferior product.

Thus the money saved in labor costs is then spent in product re-work.

Off-shoring is a 'Tecnological Dirty Bomb' waitng to explode and is far worse then any worries we may have about a suitcase Nuke.

All it would take is a few mis-placed lines of computer code to bring many US companies to theire knees.

And one wonders where the 'loyalty' of the 'Off-shoring' firms really lies...to their clients or to their country?

The US is hemmoraging jobs and 'Off-shoring' places technological WMD's in the hands of those who do not have the interest of the US or its citizens at heart.

So we must ask our President: If jobs are the number one priority..

When are you really going to penalize companys that send our jobs over-seas?..

When are you going to reduce the number of H1B visas and stem the tide of those who would come into our country and take our jobs?..