The "Catch 22s" of Globalization Shown by the Jobs Outsourcing Dilemma
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Outsourcing jobs is a classic "Catch 22," as described in Joseph Heller's book of that name about World War II.
As Congress debates whether to add billions of dollars of incentives to corporations to aid in outsourcing American jobs, let's consider how this presents a "Catch 22" scenario.
You may recall the book: the bomber pilot Yossarian is trapped by military regulation "Catch 22." He wants to quit flying bombing missions, yet, if he is sane enough to request to get out he must keep flying.
It is a mysterious, circular argument. Catch 22 keeps Yossarian in the war because a concern for his own life proves that he is not really crazy, and to get out of combat you have to be crazy.
The catch is used by superior powers to preserve and increase their power. The book is widely studied in high school and college classes to illustrate the dilemma of subordinates who are in powerless situations.
Therefore, Membersof Congress who do not vote subsidies to companies to outsource jobs do not get campaign contributions from those companies and therefore are in danger of not being re-elected.
On the other hand, companies that retain jobs in the United States may not be profitable enough to please stockholders and may endanger their very existence.
And, consider another Catch 22 regarding outsourcing: companies that don't preserve American jobs may be helping to impoverish workers in their own country, making it impossible for them to purchase the very products these companies produce.
And, the ultimate irony: a great share of the cost of the incentives paid to corporations to move U.S. jobs offshore will be paid by none other than the workers themselves, and the other members of the American middle class who have the most to lose. That because 40 percent of U.S. corporations pay no income taxes.
Some respected American "think tanks" have concluded that becauseof globalization the United States will become a "Third World" country in about 20 years. This is not a hasty or ill-considered opinion. Without adequately paid jobs in manufacturing and technology-based service industries, we face this very real threat,according to the experts.
It really should not be a partisan issue, yet, like almost everything in politics, is will end up being partisan. Republicans will line up on the side of big businesses, their main source of campaign contributions, while Democrats for the most part will take the side of the workers.
Senator Bob Graham, Florida Democrat, was grousing to TV commentor Lou Dobbs about the fact that his amendment to diffuse the unhappy effects of the outsourcing bill wasrejected by the Senate the other day.
Graham was sputtering about other senators who told him they couldn't vote for his amendment because companies in their districts had a financial stake in outsourcing, in other words, in divesting America of more jobs.
One so-called "think tank" expert sees outsourcing this way:"According to the election-year bluster of politicians and pundits, the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries has become a problem of epic proportion.Fortunately, this alarmism is misguided. Outsourcing actually brings far more benefits than costs, both now and in the long run. If its critics succeed in provoking a new wave of American protectionism, the consequences will be disastrous -- for the U.S.economy and for the American workers they claim to defend."
The writer is Daniel W. Drezner is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and the author of "The Sanctions Paradox." This quote is from the current issue of Foreign Affairs, the journal of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Outsourcing is not just a problem in America. Germany reportedly is losing 7,000 industrial plants to lower wage European nations, mainly in the Balkans. That's right, 7,000 factories, undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of jobs. Perhaps Dr. Drezner will also downplay German "alarmism" about lost jobs.
Both President Bush and challenger Senator Kerry have lined up on the side of globalization in the past. No one supports protectionism, one major cause of the Great Depression. Some pundits say there is little difference between the two in their policies. Kerry says he has a plan to create 85 million jobs in the U.S. If outsourcing continues, how will thishappen? We hope his explanation and his plans are valid and workable.
Otherwise, the Catch 22 will continue and the American citizenry will be the loser. The ultimate irony will be that the nations we have tried so hard to help over the years will be our economic, and, who knows, perhaps political, masters, God forbid.###
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