The CAPS sentence was a quote from my secondary source, slashdot.org, and I should have shown the quotes and acknowledged the source in my OP. I included the statement w/ the link because of it's provocative nature and not because it represents my POV.
As time and space continue to compress and become redefined into smaller units, due to, among other things, the medium that we are presently communicating in, economic globalization and socio-political "homogenization", is inevitable. I am certain that MS's pledge to outsource jobs to China @ approx 1,000/yr over 10 yrs, (the slow start, no doubt, precipitated the visit of China President Hu Jintao to MS headquarters), was calculated to help gain a foothold into the Chinese market by greasing the skids w/ the Chinese government. This would result in an increase of US trade w/ China , would have the effect of improving the US economy and trade balance and, if you believe in trickle down economics, would, ultimately, improve the US job market which in turn would improve the standard of living for the US worker.
This is utopian thinking, IMHO. The problem is not w/ the globaliztion of commerce or the immediate impact that outsourced jobs will have on the economy, but lies, rather, w/ the flow rate of the benefits being ostensibly, "trickled down" and the intentions of those who are at the controls. As the above Henry Ford example implies, corporations are not built upon a model based in altruism and the betterment of humankind. They are, by design, impersonal, profit making instruments w/ a hierachial structure that resembles a machine, more so, than a biologic form or a human being. The problem is not w/ how a company decides to increase it's profits, but rather w/ how those profits are used and distributed.
As the world "globilizes" the competition is opening up and the borders of the marketplace are becoming less and less constrained to national boundaries. As power and the accessibilty of resources become increasingly centralized and under the control of the mega corporations and the world's governments, (the relationship of Microsoft and the Chinese government is a case in point), the individual worker is becoming more isolated and dependendent upon the policies of the power brokers. What is good for the large corporations and the governments is not necessarily what is good for the individual worker.
Today, the US worker is at a double disadvantage. First, there is guilt by association. The individual is, by default, tied to the policy of the government to which he/she is a citizen, and currently, on a global level, US policy is anything but popular. Secondly, from a global standpoint, there is a double standard between the US and other countries relative to protectionist policy and government subsidy and promotion of industry. Non-nationals have rights and access to resources in the US, that US citizens do not have in the workplaces of other countries. While the corporations may flourish in the current international business climate, as long as our, (the US), government continues to maintain it's one way door policy and fails to follow the example of other countries who support and protect their workforces, the US worker will continue to be at a disadvantage by being on an uneven playing field. Outsourcing is just a small manifestation of a deeper problem.
