Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
In a sluggish economy that has many Americans struggling to find jobs, we must search for reason and resolution.
Leading the economic issue is corporate America and its general push to outsource jobs to countries like India and China, where labor is cheap and readily available.
The prime offender in this corporate travesty is most definitely Walmart, and there is little that can be done to stop this global monster. With more than 8,000 stores worldwide, Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, grossing more revenue than any other company and helping reduce the costs of goods by selling in bulk.
However, this comes at a cost. Walmart currently imports a majority of goods from China, where labor is inexpensive and incentives are high for mass production. At the expense of manufacturers based in the United States, we are now importing more goods than we export, accruing debt to countries like China.
While it may be easy to point the finger at corporate giants like Walmart, our own government is outsourcing jobs to India as well.
When you receive a call about welfare benefits or medicare subscriptions, it’s likely you will be talking not to a fellow countryman, but rather to someone from India. Indians are now filing tax returns for U.S. companies as well. This trend has become more prominent in recent years due to the Indian economy’s continuous adaptation in regard to the principles touted by the U.S. government.
Not only is the outsourcing of jobs a concern to Americans who find themselves unemployed as a result of job movement overseas, but there are implications for those people who take jobs in call centers and manufacturing plants popping up all over Asia.
Due to their service to North American consumers, most call center employees work throughout the night, leaving the close-knit traditional families embraced by Indian culture to take a job that offers prestige in the community. Many young Indian adults are forced to make a decision between family values or career advancement.
On a corporate level, outsourcing may appear to be beneficial; however, it is expensive to set up a reliable call center in a developing country. In a location where power grids are often down, it is important to bring in a phone system that will not falter in a time of need.
Also adding to the expense are the buildings themselves — large, air-conditioned structures that house various workers as they go about their day.
Obviously, taking jobs out of the United States, no matter how lucrative it may seem to be for corporate business CEO’s, has many detrimental effects. In America, it is likely ex-employees will have and spread a negative perception of a company that laid them off and will consequently lack enthusiasm when purchasing products manufactured by that company.
Before seeking out the nearest Walmart to pick up a notebook for a project or a CD to rock out to in your car, think about the potential outsourcing involved in the product you are buying. It is quite possible the Dell computer you bought has a call center in India, providing technical support to users — a service once provided on the home front. And your neighbor across the street may have lost their job due to your simple purchase of an iPod at Walmart.
Call me paranoid, but outsourcing is a huge problem with not nearly enough attention focused upon it. With cheap labor threatening our domestic employees, we need to take the steps to ensure at least some jobs stay in the United States.
Although it is incredibly difficult to avoid corporate giants like Walmart because our budgets may not always be able to support local businesses, it is the right thing to try.
Be conscientious of all your purchases and think about the implications involved when buying products.
Ryanne Nason is a fourth-year communications student. Her columns appeared every Thursday.
