Democrats screw IT workers

[Larkspur]

I'm a senior software engineer and was laid off last year. Not passing the amendment by U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair), which would have required that any health information technology system bought under a $20 billion grant program in the stimulus package be manufactured in the United States by American workers, is a stab in the front and back to us IT workers who worked for Democratic candidates.

Dems Stripped "Buy America" Provision for IT Workers

Per my last post about the intense corporate lobbying campaign aimed at stopping stimulus money from being directed to American companies, check this out from the McKeesport Daily News (h/t commenter Robert Oak):

Murphy Amendment Stripped From Proposal

By PATRICK CLOONAN, Daily News Staff Writer

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, said his amendment would have required that any health information technology system bought under a $20 billion grant program in the stimulus package be manufactured in the United States by American workers...

While the amendment received unanimous support in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it was not included in the $825 billion spending package that was approved by the House Wednesday night by a 244-188 vote.

Murphy said he made another bid for his amendment Tuesday night in the House Rules Committee, but again without success. He said the Rules Committee did not approve any Buy American provisions with the exception of one applying to textiles.

Don't underestimate the power of neoliberals in the Democratic Party to go to bat for the worst agenda of corporate outsourcers. And don't underestimate the small - but vocal - populist wing of the Republican Party looking to beat Democrats on trade/globalization issues. There is an aggressive minority of Republicans - especially from industrial states - looking to outflank Democrats on these issues...

SNIP

[defendandprotect]

1. Somehow, America has to start concentrating on "NOT made in America" . . . and get it back--!!!

For decades now either parts of everything have come from elsewhere and/or

now all of everything comes from elsewhere ....

It used to be 10% of items were made in China --- now EVERYTHING is made in China ---

and I don't want it!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. I agree. I want to buy ONLY American from now on but everything comes from abroad nt

[defendandprotect]

5. Well the guys who moved everything out aren't going to bring jobs back if we buy this China stuff--!

Can't we all agree to NOT buy it???!!!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Believe me I don't! I haven't bought anything except essentials for over a year I think.

except for Christmas and that wasn't my choice.

[defendandprotect]

10. We need help on this . . .maybe unions could call for "Support American Jobs/Goods" . . .???

Made in USA -- someone has to pump this -- Congress isn't --

[Sarah Ibarruri]

12. We have to write Congress and tell them to stop the bullshit - free trade only benefits

the mega-rich and outsourcing has left us jobless yet buying products from the same a-hs that took the jobs to 50 cent/hour countries.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Is there a concise but simple explanation somewhere regarding the Buy American clause?

A website where it's easily explained? Thanks.

[patrice]

4. ABSOLUTELY Right On!

Been worrying about this kind of stuff ever since we started hearing about all of Crossovers. Bipartisanship is fine as long as it doesn't give away the farm.

[madeline_con]

7. I heard Caterpiller was bitching about the provision, saying 50%

of their sales were in other countries. I imagined Israeli bulldozers demolishing homes and thought fuck 'em.

[terisan]

8. I think it is deliberate and that they and corporations agree much will be outsourced.

They may have a case for some outsourcing---what I resent firstly is that they are not honest and keep their agreements with the corporations secret---so we never get in on the discussions.

Some Dems have stressed that we need to focus on the jobs-such as certain green jobs-that cannot be exported-but what exactly does that mean?

Incidentally Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former NY governor who was a big foe of Wall St claims in Slate that the big bailouts should not be done and that the service sector jobs in these investment banking are also heading overseas. (I guess we are supposed to underwrite their leaving).

I would like to start identifying the members of both parties who are truly working to keep jobs here. Maybe Murphy is one of them.

[housewolf]

9. As a software qa tester, what I don't understand is why they don't send the H1Bvisa folks home...

They were brought over here to help with Y2K because we needed the help at that time, but now there are many American IT workers laid off and who can't find jobs... while many places there are more H1B visa workers than American workers... in my group, it's it's 12 H1B visa workers to 5 American workers. I'm a contractor... almost every contracting firm rep that I talk with is an H1B visa worker, many of whom are very hard to understand.

I like them all personaaly and don't wish any of them ill... but the IT jobs issue isn't just about jobs being off-shored, it's also about too many H1B visa workers within our own country.

[napoleon_in_rags]

11. How long do we have to lose this game before we play like the winners?

Our leaders keep talking like we need to have the skills to 'compete' in a global economy, as if the 'global economy' is America's interest. Really, that would be fine if China, and other growing economies thought the 'global economy' were there prime interest. However, the Chinese leadership got this crazy idea that China's economy was China's prime interest, and proceeded to "cheat" with everything from currency manipulation to making all the trade deals come out in their favor. As a result, this country is bleeding its wealth into countries who are working in their own interest, while we preach about the interest of the global economy. American leadership has got to get the idea that their job is to advance the interests of the American people, and that the global economy is a tool of that, not an end in itself.