The Orbis

The harsh reality is that the outsourcing of American jobs is a consequence of globalization. The problem and what is most frightening is Bush’s posture in the face of outsourcing. Bush’s support of outsourcing is not just about economics, but also about what support for the outsourcing of American jobs means for education and the American dream.

In the economic realm, the debate hinges around whether or not one supports arguments for the validity of long-run or short-one economic theory. In the short run the outsourcing of jobs can be beneficial. The short-run method exports to developing countries jobs such as telemarketing and basic accounting that Americans simply do not wish to do. I am sure that if Bush could figure out some way to outsource jobs such as being a janitor or trash man, it would happen. In the short run, this frees Americans up to work other jobs, jobs that frequently require high degrees of training.

Nevertheless, several problems occur when outsourcing becomes a long run phenomenon. One strong argument often voiced in support of outsourcing of jobs is that long-run outsourcing aids economic development. Yet what happens when we start outsourcing service sector jobs, such as physicians and nurses for example? Quickly the pool of sophisticated jobs available for Americans disappears. Indeed in Western Europe there has been a large increase in the number of nurses hired from Africa, and no doubt America’s turn is not far away.

Thus the outsourcing of American jobs quickly becomes a question of whether or not Americans will be prepared to tackle the not yet created or imagined jobs of the 21st century, jobs that will not readily be outsourced to countries such as like India. And this becomes a question of American education.

Misguided by the rhetoric of No Child Left Behind -— the pinnacle of an education policy that says one thing and does another — the Bush administration continues to support an inept education system. This system may sufficiently train a small portion of the population for technical jobs, but it leaves the majority of the population to blue collar jobs. Also, it ultimately fails to produce educated individuals adaptable to new job markets stemming from the increasing tide of globalization in the 21st century.

Thus, the Bush administration’s blind eye to the outsourcing of jobs ultimately coincides with its single-handed destruction of the possibility of the American dream for each and every American. The American dream is ultimately about education. If you are not educated, you will not be able to better yourself. If we as Americans lose our tradition of education that feeds the American dream, the process of globalization will pull more jobs from Americans. This scenario will cause the United States to lose quickly in the face of the reality of globalization. Whether we like it or not, only the best and brightest will stay ahead.

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