Mr. President, How About Eliminating Tax Cuts/Incentives for Companies Outsourcing Jobs Overseas?
Normally I do not use my blog to deep dive into politics, but with the impending State of the Union address tonight and some information I've recently discovered, I at least want to express the opinion I'm putting up here today. Apparently, tonight President Obama's speech is going to focus on two main issues: Jobs and The Economy. Meanwhile, it's come to my attention that our government is essentially underwriting and sanctioning the process of overseas job outsourcing by still giving huge tax breaks -- and possibly even government subsidies -- to companies that are also simultaneously outsourcing these jobs. Talk about a being hypocritical!
Worse still, this whole process can be masked under a veil of legitimacy, and here's how: Corporation A contracts U.S.-based Company Z, the company that's doing the overseas outsourcing, to do its dirty work. This means that on the books, Corporation A looks like it's merely hiring another U.S. company for a project whereas in reality, Corporation A is cutting anywhere from dozens to hundreds of jobs for its U.S. employees and effectually replacing them with cheaper overseas labor.
Now, if Corporation A wants to cut expenses and outsource their work, that's one thing, but I'm angered by the fact that this very same corporation gets funding (or tax breaks or other incentives) from our federal government. Though this funding may be for something completely different (e.g. the development of a new manufacturing facility), why is this OK if they're simultaneously adding to the U.S. Unemployment roster??! To me, this is all about massaging the corporate P&L to make its profits look better for stockholders when in effect it's doing nothing to protect jobs here at home.
If the currrent administration and Congress are serious about improving the climate for job creation in this country, perhaps they should more closely scrutinize the labor practices of any company receiving government funds or tax breaks. Otherwise, stop talking about fixing a problem when you're only helping to contribute to it.
