In the heat of the 2004 U.S. presidential race, John Kerry likened outsourcing to treason, Lou Dobbs harangued against it from his CNN anchor chair and the Indian outsourcing vendors were left scrambling.
But if four years is a lifetime in Washington, it is an eternity in Bangalore. And as the 2008 U.S. election starts to sizzle, the Indian outsourcing firms have returned to win Washington over as veritable insiders, slicker and better connected than ever.
The Indian vendors’ main worries are the Democratic candidates Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, whose campaign has flirted with anti-outsourcing rhetoric, and John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, who is running an explicitly populist campaign. The Indian executives believe that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, also a Democrat, is more sympathetic to their cause, but they are concerned that she would be compelled to match the others’ statements in a tight contest.
Nasscom has hired as its chief Washington lobbyist Robert Blackwill, a former senior White House adviser and U.S. ambassador to India in the Bush administration. As the president of Barbour Griffith & Rogers International, an arm of one of the most powerful lobby shops in Washington, located three blocks from the White House, he is a heavy hitter on Capitol Hill.
And most strikingly, they have mastered the Washington art of waging proxy battles through local front organizations, which spare them from appearing to be foreigners with an agenda. They provide facts, figures and arguments to trade groups like the Information Technology Association of America and to Indian-American political groups. Then they watch as those groups arrange for seemingly neutral voices to champion their causes in the newspapers or before Congress.
The focus issue of outsourcing doesn’t piss me off as much as “business as usual” inside the Beltway. What has to be done to turn Congress and the White House on their heads?
Don’t turn them on their heads. Turn ’em out of office!
LOL
That cartoon says it all!
Your tax dollars at work. Outsourcing would not work with out Congress and the President giving big tax breaks to India to un-employ Americans.
The funny thing I always found the few times I had to work with a name Indian outsourcing company is that the quality sucked and the talent was non-existent.
Isn’t there an old saw about you get what you pay for?
3,
VERY true..
But, india is HIRING those with Knowledge, FROm the USA for VERY good wages, and paying the workers, VERY LITTLE.
TEACh for 1 year and come home RICH.
STILL want to see all wages, and earnings CUT, to EQUAL, no matter the JOB… you cant tell me the janitor, the maintenance, and the Slobs on the BOTTOM should get LESS then those at the TOP…
If you fired the BOTTOM RUNG, I think THEY would Appreciate them MORE.
It would Standardize EVERYTHINg in the USA, including property taxes, and Living WAGES..
The hilarious thing in all of this (if it weren’t actually costing so many jobs) is that it gets a lot of press, at least for technology offshoring. And yet, many companies have already figured out that it doesn’t work to have your geeks half a world away. First, with a 10.5 hr time diff, it’s hard to communicate in real time. Second, India speaks English. And, they speak it correctly.
Unfortunately, they speak English very very differently than people in either the U.S. or Britain. Much is lost in the “translation”. So, the end product, even with excellent technical expertise, comes out both late and inferior due to poor communication across great distances and radically different colloquial speech. Many companies have realized this already.
It was already quite a few years ago that IBM consulting services terminated a 2.5 billion dollar agreement with a company in India and performed the work in-house. Some financial firms are continuing to offshore some work, but are ensuring that it is in well contained well defined packets or work.
That said, as a programmer, I have hedged my job a bit by buying some shares in the India Fund (IFN). I prefer when my job is in good shape to when my fund value goes up.
5, CORRECT…
And not only THAT..
but US firms that do the Job the CORP should do…Charge ALOT of money.
WHICH is why they farm these jobs OUT. ANd those that MAKe the money, sense that Firm, is doing the work, and hires LOW paid workers anyway, are THOSe at the top, playing racket ball or GOLF, while others are answering the phone.
The OLd style Managers, and CEO, USED to need to KNOW and understand ALL the jobs in his business…INCASE someone didnt SHOW UP, they could replace them, THEMSELVES…And not spend time calling others to come in. Or if there was a RUN on the calls, they could lend a HAND.
If the original Corp does the hiring, and so forth, it COSTS LESS…as the managers and so forth are ALREADY being paid.. Just HIRE those you need to answer the phones…And if they cant, they can forward to THOSE that may have a BETTER answer, insted of the NEXT guy over…
#3 – Sounds The Alarm,
Isn’t there an old saw about you get what you pay for?
Yes. However, it is overly optimistic. The correct adage should be:
You pay for what you get. — Close friend learned this one from her father.
You may or may not be lucky enough to get what you pay for it, but you will always pay for what you get.
The corollary is:
Anything free is worth what you paid for it. — Heinlein, I believe.
Ive been to India to study this outsourcing and where they draw their competitive advantages.
It really all boils down to the fact that they are better at us in the sciences/engineering specialties thats driving this sector. Their high school level is almost 3yrs ahead of their American counterparts. And average Indian student out of the 10th grade already knows how to triple integrate functions and by the 12grade can solve fourier transforms.
While our children can tell you how Brooke Hogan is doing trying to land a record deal or saving up for their next fancy overprices apple product.
8. “It really all boils down to the fact that they are better at us in the sciences/engineering specialties thats driving this sector.”
You’re forgetting the other half of the answer. Sure they’re better educated but they’re also willing to work for much less than our minimum wage. If it wasn’t for the second part, there would be no outsourcing to India.
#7 – Oh yes the Bard of the Spaceways was usually correct in most of his sayings.
Does that means India is switching its main export (Engineers) to Lawyers?
Well now, this presents some interesting possibilities.
If you elect me president I’ll stop American companies from outsourcing white collar and IT jobs (by opening the borders to any and all who want to do the jobs Americans don’t at half the price)
And I’ll solve the impending housing market crash(see above).
8,
AND its the Outsourcing that makes all the money POSSIBLE that you can have better schooling…
And let us NOT forget, that you are NOT using that knowledge, IF you are reading the solution OUT OF A BOOK, of problems and HOw to solve them. WE have enough people on the Street that can do that even Drunk.
ANd Im not talking on a 40-60 year old Copper line, thats 4,000+ miles Long…and wishing I could her that beautiful lady on the other end.
>Outsourcing would not work with out Congress and the President giving big tax breaks to India to un-employ Americans.
Could you explain these tax breaks? And just how much taxes does India pay to the US?
Outsourcing if it doesn’t help the companies involved, then it’s not worth government action. If it does help them, then let them benefit, and the customers will reap the benefits as well. Or perhaps you would just like to see all jobs go overseas as there is so much tech demand globally now.
Why should taxpayers have to pay more for government call centers? Why should people have to pay more for Xrays when they can be read by doctors in India?
#8 – “It really all boils down to the fact that they are better at us in the sciences/engineering specialties thats driving this sector”
You’ve got to be kidding, right?
#14 At one time I had the relevant links around. If I get a chance today I’ll find them again and post.
Here’s the best explanation I have been able to find:
“While low wages are the main reason for outsourcing, one corporate tax break provides an important incentive for the practice. Under U.S. law, companies can indefinitely defer any payment of federal taxes on profits earned overseas. The law states they are to pay taxes on that income only when they return those profits to the United States.”
-In essence as long as they don’t move the money back as corporate profits they don’t get taxed. It doesn’t stop them from moving that money back as compensation or as stock benefits. If moved back as compensation, then money that would normally be used as compensation from internal jobs can then be moved directly into the profit column.
Just Google “outsourcing tax breaks” and read for yourself & make you’re own assessment.
I personally don’t think it fair to give the money I pay for taxes to corps that would normally NOT make any money outsourcing if they DIDN’T get the tax break. How about we use that money to fix – say – the infrastructure of the country?
Why suddenly do we live in a country that thinks no one should pay for roads and road repair? Are those necessary things suddenly suppose spring from the earth? We live in America the cheep, while the govs of India and other countries DO pay for such things as well as health care in most cases. They’ll beat us because no one here wants to ante up & our leaders are fools.
You know I hate GWB with a passion, but I’ll give him this: he can make a decision and stick to it. Its ALWAYS the wrong one, but he can at least do it .
Ok – I’m done.