CLOSEWINDOW [X]
Dhruti Contractor 25, is a Public Health Prevention Service Fellow at the Centers for Disease and Prevention. Outside of work, she hopes to promote political awareness and activism through the Georgia Indian American Political Action Committee.    

Is The Outsourcing Issue Overblown?

We hear the word “outsourcing” on almost a daily basis, and most often it is associated with India. The hype around the issue makes it seem that all jobs in America will be lost to outsourcing. A few others say that outsourcing is beneficial to both the US and India and will promote greater economic growth for both countries. 

What is behind such stark differences of opinion? I spoke to two opinionated individuals- Jitendra Contractor, an Engineer from Stone Mountain, GA and Smita Banerjee, a Consultant from Marietta, GA. 

The respondents were asked to react to the statement- “The outsourcing issue is overblown by politicians and the media, and this is detrimental to our Indian American community. “ - considering the following two questions.

Are politicians and the media too negative and narrowly focused? Please explain.

Jitendra: Yes. Both the media and politicians do better when there is a clear target or enemy to focus attention. It was predictable since over three million jobs lost in the past three years have not been recovered, and no one offered a clear explanation or solution for the future. The way outsourcing is portrayed eliminates the possibility of the basic benefit to US companies by cutting costs and allows them to stay in business, without which, potentially more or all of their employees would be unemployed. 

Moreover, these companies tend to reinvest the monies saved into salaries for US based workers and critical, but costly, research and development. The media and politicians also have an incentive to discuss the immediate or short-term outcomes of events and inaccurately extrapolating into the future. In the case of our current recession, they focus on the staggering loss of jobs yet ignore the real potential for an economic boom through increased research and development and trade with countries such as India. 

Smita: No. The media and politicians should give light to this tremendous shift in the industries of our time. In my opinion, the topic should get more attention, but for more reasons than the loss of jobs in the United States. The media and politicians should delve into issues such as human rights and safe, sustainable economic development. Basically, US companies go offshore, as they have for decades, to escape the public scrutiny and regulatory functions of the US government. 

Tax payers expect the government to maintain minimum occupational standards, yet these same tax payers have a blind eye to the setting the same occupational minimums for workers off shore. The Government of India, too, has a responsibility to stand up to incoming US companies to demand certain standards for their citizens. Furthermore, the number of unemployed US workers for offshore workers will continue to increase, so real-time solutions are needed urgently. The best way to achieve this is through the hype created by politicians and the media. Finally, more attention needs to be paid to helping those who loose their jobs and health care insurance in the US. If entire industries are disrupted because of outsourcing, then who will help re-train these workers?

Does this discussion affect public opinion about Indian Americans?

Jitendra: Yes. I have heard of bumper stickers that state “My job went to India and all I got was a pink slip.” After 9-11, the backlash of hate crimes on the South Asian community was felt nationwide, and fear in our community has heightened since then. And this fear is justified, I believe. Politicians of both parties agree that outsourcing is “bad” and only differ on any given day about “how bad” it will be for the US economy if it is not minimized early. TV news/talk shows such as Lou Dobbs invite Indian Americans to speak on the issue and then proceed to make it an “Indian” issue. The target is clear and the average American will assume that an Indian American’s loyalty would be towards India. We have not given them much indication otherwise.

Smita: Perhaps. I believe that most Americans would realize that the decisions to outsource are made within a particular US company instead of by any Indian American individual or community. Indian Americans may have an unspoken preference for outsourcing because of the potential benefits to the Indian economy; however, this will not play a major factor in the minds of Americans.

Please send in your comments to contact@nripulse.com.