Ellington

The blogosphere seems a bit a-flutter over the dawning awareness that an increasing number of "knowledge worker" jobs -- mostly high-tech -- are being outsourced by American corporations to other countries such as India. Democratic presidential primary candidates are bring it up in their stump speeches and materials. Meanwhile, White House econ adviser Gregory Mankiw is getting slapped around by some bloggers and columnists for making the argument that outsourcing these jobs has long-term merit. (It may, in an economists' world-view sense, but not in a "they're closing the plant and we can't money out of our house and how are the kids going to eat" sense.)

Who should take the blame? How about Bill Clinton? (Hell, why not? Works for everything else.) Max Sawicky at MaxSpeak offers an interesting take on the role that free trade has regarding outsourcing, and he notes that the "free trade" concept is one that splits "liberals," with relatively few people on the left questioning the effects of globalization and "free trade." Comments on the thread offer some interesting thoughts, including one that notes the similarities between the far left and far right regarding protectionism.

I'm wondering if high tech workers might not one day find themselves part of a new labor movement, and if outsourcing and "free trade" might end up driving some tech workers either to unions or other forms of organizing, or if existing organizations and associations will be strengthened. It also seems possible that the market will organize more high-tech workers into contractors or contract shops who compete at prices below corporate salaries, but it remains to be seen if that's an effective way to stem the tide.

Acutally, we might have a case against Mr. Bush, too. By cutting taxes largely on wealth (instead of on income), Bush has encouraged wealth to do what it does -- seek profits. Apparently, that wealth doesn't care where the profits come from and will seek them using overseas labor and overseas markets when it suits it. Bad wealth!

It might have helped if some of Mr. Bush's "small business" and "middle class" tax cuts had actually been aimed at small business and middle-class income. (Including those of us here in the contractor class.) With lowered payroll and entitlement taxes, consumer demand might help the market find a need for increased capacity, production and productivity. They might even hire a few folks. (Warning: Just as an aside, it may be an interesting sign for the U.S. economy when Wal-Mart just completely moves its corporate headquarters to its mainland China distribution complex in beautiful Shenzen, the Garden City. That'll never happen, right? Right?)

One other thing worth wondering about is that it seems like a mistake, politically, to totally alienate the people with a deep understand of Internet communications. Indeed, that level of professional frustration may be one component in the sudden growth of online grassroots organizing.