By Vincent Safuto staff writer
February 12, 2003
A recent issue of Business Week magazine had the trend of contracting jobs out to India and other foreign countries as its cover story, and the story should frighten every American who has to work for a living.
In a nutshell, corporations are beginning to ship those "good-paying jobs" our political leaders are always babbling about to far-off English-speaking countries, leaving well-trained, welleducated Americans with a future at the drive-through.
It's not just the tech companies. Banks, insurance companies, stockbrokers, engineering companies and other firms, some of the biggest names in corporate America and the biggest beneficiaries of the mania for tax cuts, tax breaks and tax incentives (not to mention military contracts), are abandoning the United States for comparatively low-wage, low-regulation countries eager to employ their well-trained, well-educated masses.
The business leaders think it's the greatest idea since reincorporating in Bermuda, and are eager to get rolling and start saving money. There are no plans, however, to send the top jobs overseas. I mean, our business leaders are nothing if not patriotic.
As usual, we're promised a whole array of benefits, including lower costs for products and services. I thought, it's a comforting feeling to know that your health insurer saved money by having your claim rejected in India instead of in the United States, but then I realized most Americans won't have health insurance to file claims against and be rejected. See? They're thinking of us.
Recently, President Bush showed his commitment to the federal workforce by expressing a desire to fire a large portion of it, then contract out those bureaucratic jobs that still need to be done, even in the computer age. The day may come when your Social Security questions are answered by cubicle-dwellers on the other side of the world.
I propose to go even further, and contract out the U.S. Congress, if only to give our elected officials a taste of what's to come. They haven't a clue what it's like to be a regular American, so this might show them why people are so frightened about their economic future.
Think about how much the average member of Congress costs taxpayers. We could save lots of money by hiring a call center in Bangalore. The folks there, sitting in front of computer terminals, would get the laws and instructions on how to vote on them from the lobbyists, do what they're told to do and have time left over for other jobs, like answering tech-support calls.
In fact, since the states are seen as legislative innovators, I suggest that Florida try it first. We have a budget deficit here, and, for efficiency, maybe we can go in on a deal with another state to share its call-center legislature when ours isn't in session, thus saving money that could go to tax cuts for working families and businesses, thus helping our great economy grow even more.
If nothing else, it's wonderful to see corporate America pulling together in our time of need to ensure a future with abundant leisure time for all.
Vincent F. Safuto is a copy editor for the Press Journal. Reach him at Vincent.Safuto@scripps.com
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