Above the Law: Outsourcing imports frustration

The practice of outsourcing, or sending jobs to foreign companies for cheaper labor, has been going on in the United States for years and has continued to grow as a viable option for companies.

Hundreds of corporations in the United States are outsourcing and sending American jobs overseas because they do not want to pay workers here a fair salary. They would rather send our work elsewhere so they can line their own pockets, and this makes me absolutely livid.

When you consider how many people in America are already unemployed, how many are coming into the workplace, and how many need supplementary income, you begin to see the bigger issue with outsourcing: it takes available jobs away from hard-working Americans who need them.

I have personally been affected by this practice. A company I worked for at one point told me I no longer had the position I had been performing for over a year. The job was being given to someone in another country who would work for a fraction of the pay. Sure, the company may save a few dollars, but what about the employees, their families, or more importantly, the customer?

I have spoken to numerous people over the years that have dealt with the effects of outsourcing, and very few have ever raved about the practice. As a matter of fact, the normal reactions I have noticed are anger, frustration and disbelief.

Take, for example, the software company whose product you have just installed on your computer and now need help with. This company tells you to call their technical support line where you pay a given dollar amount per minute, but when you get on the phone, you cannot understand the person on the other end of the line because their accent is too thick and end up wasting time, money and patience. This tends to make customers angry.

Typically the jobs that are outsourced are low-tech, repetitive, low-skilled jobs. In other words, these are entry-level positions. Jobs such as technical support and customer service are the jobs young people often do. If you have ever tried to get a job, you know experience is desired, and if you cannot get a job easily to gain that experience or do not have the opportunity to get into that company because the entry level jobs are all overseas, you miss out on opportunity.

I will concede the point that outsourcing allows certain companies to offer services at a cheaper cost to us, as it does work that way. However, I feel I would be willing to pay a little more for a service if it means having more work available for the country.

I absolutely love America and being an American, but there are times when our greedy practices are detrimental to our society as a whole. I believe outsourcing is one of those practices.