Clinton and the Politics of Outsourcing
Here we go … Let the Politics of Offshore Outsourcing begin anew – or shall we say continue. Ms. Hilary Clinton gave a ‘satellite speech’ to the IIT (India Institute of Technology) alumni last week.
Among her comments were:
“I am concerned that trade is becoming a zero-sum game, instead of being a means to lift up all who participate”
“If globalization pushes down US wages, other countries will be affected.
“Workers in the U.S. are concerned about outsourcing, as I’m sure you know. And I think they have a right go be,”
Our take is like the current immigration ‘conversation’, outsourcing will be one of the political rhetoric whipping boys over the next year. Typically epitomizing another topic where the politicians fully understand the big picture, yet will placate speech to the masses with a nationalistic focus. If you take these comments to heart, you could be lead to believe that the New York Senator is sounding an alarm to the future of protection-free global sourcing. Thankfully (or hopefully) we all know better.
This year, like all election years, will bring even more anti-outsourcing bills and protectionist talk to congress. Hilary’s not alone, Obama’s opposition talk about outsourcing is even worse, and the Republican candidates are not free from negative rhetoric either. So we know the talk is coming, let’s just continue to assume that also like most years it fades into obscurity like it always does post election.