November 03, 2003


New reason to hate. A new study released by University of California at Berkeley shows that 14 million jobs in America will be outsourced to countries like India, Poland, and Russia within the next few years. The reason for this move is cost-cutting. While layoffs in America continues everyday affecting a lot of lives, companies resort to moving jobs offshore in order to stay afloat. Good news to the citizens of the recipient of these jobs. Bad news for the people who actually live in America who are willing to receive less money, work longer hours and take the abuse that is the result of a struggling economy.

This change is even worse news for ethnic groups who have permanent resident status here in the states. As if they don't receive enough tongue (and sometimes physical) lashing from ignorant people who think that anyone who is dark-skinned and/or looked middle eastern are from Afghanistan or other high risk countries famed by their terrorist tendencies (not everyone from Palestine wears a vest loaded with bombs. Not everyone who wears a turban and fashions a beard is Osama's brother, cousin, son, etc...). Now here's another conflict for them to deal with.

I don't favor most of the practices of corporate America. But in order for businesses to continue operations, they need good, reliable people to do the job. There are people fortunate enough to have good jobs, good pay yet are always complaining about what they do and what they get for what they do. I have worked with these people. And believe me, most of them don't deserve the pay they get for the quality of work they put out. They work less, but want more. What's a corporation going to do? If the money's not coming in, they can't very well pay their unproductive workers. But they need to continute operations. So they resort to going outside of the country looking for help. Looking for people who will actually appreciate earning a reasonable amount of pay and shows the appreciation by working hard and producing better quality products and services.

Let's face it. The jobs that are sent offshore are mostly jobs that a lot people here in America don't want to be stuck with. Just imagine how many homeless people we have who opt to stay out on the street rather than working at McDonalds, or mopping floors, or even answering phones. Or those who stay at home collecting unemployment checks from the government while waiting for a better opportunity to come by. Guess what. You don't win the lottery unless you actually buy the lotto ticket. The same applies with looking for a job. You actually HAVE TO look in order for you to find one. Unemployment checks only last for so many months. Then what are you going to do? Collect food stamps?

Sure, there's a lot of us who are thankful for what we do and get for the first few months, even years on rare occassions, but after that, the whining begins. And there's nothing wrong in wanting more - but with an economy in such a grave state, we can't really have what we want.

I have friends who have been victimized by layoffs or 'organization restructuring'. Heck, I was one of them. And needless to say not all us belonged to the 'whining' category. Most stomached the jobs they were given - we sucked it up when the going got tough. And when we were out of jobs, we looked, and looked, and looked... until we find a job that will help us get by. In some cases its not permanent. But we're thankful for it anyway.

I don't approve nor do I condemn sending jobs offshore. But a lot of people here in America are so sensitive about matters that concern people of middle eastern / asian descent specially after 9-11. There's got to be a better way for the media to report these things than to say that people in India and the like are stealing American jobs.

If you want to call it as it is, the headline would read 'Smart, inexpensive labor'. Atleast there's more truth to that.

I just hope that the release of this new study won't be another reason for the ignorant to hate those who came from the countries who are benefitting from these outsourced jobs. They've already got enough prejudice to deal with. I don't know if they can take another one.

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