Exporting America: An Interview With Lou Dobbs
The CNN anchor is mad as hell about offshore outsourcing and faith-based economics.
When American manufacturing jobs headed overseas in the 1990s, supporters of tariff-free trade argued that newly unemployed workers could simply find jobs in the growing high-tech sector. Yet multinational corporations soon outsourced white-collar and service-industry jobs as well, with overseas labor fielding support questions from computer users, programming software, and even examining X-rays and MRI scans for American consumers.
Outsourcing has found a fierce opponent in journalist Lou Dobbs. Since 2003, his CNN news show Lou Dobbs Tonight has featured a recurring segment in which Dobbs and his team report on corporations sending jobs overseas. He has compiled an online list of outsourcers, and recently wrote a book on the practice entitled Exporting America. Dobbs recently spoke with MotherJones.com about outsourcing and its effects, current and potential, on the American economy.
MotherJones.com: When did the current outsourcing trend really begin in earnest?
Lou Dobbs: It began really with the collapse of the telecom and communications bubble in 2000. The corporations took advantage of a digital universe to start moving jobs overseas to cheaper labor markets, and then expanded from there -- to what's now an estimated 400,000-500,000 jobs a year being exported to cheap overseas labor markets.
Moving from the manufacturing offshoring to outsourcing was really a creation of the Internet; the bandwith made it all possible. And while the web-based companies and technology companies and telecommunications companies were obviously first with outsourcing, it's now expanded to nearly every industry in the country and the world.
MJ.com: In your book, you also describe how state and local governments are now outsourcing. How did that start?
LD: It's come about because state governments are being approached by the outsourcing facilitators, consultants and outsourcing companies themselves. We've reported extensively on a number of state governments whose outsourcing contracts are based in their unemployment divisions and departments of labor -- where, for example, people in Indiana at one point could call up their state unemployment office and be talking to someone in India about unemployment benefits -- denying citizens of Indiana a job to help citizens of Indiana. It becomes increasingly mind-boggling what's going on.
MJ.com: Obviously, the most immediate cost of this outsourcing is the loss of people's jobs and livelihoods. What are some of the other long-term consequences?
LD: Among the many consequences is the pain that is being felt by working men and women in this country, particularly our middle class. But the other impact is the transfer of technology and our knowledge base. We're exporting our privacy as well, because medical and financial records are being exported so that cheap overseas labor can work with those documents and records.
Each time we transfer knowledge bases overseas, whether it be manufacturing or technology or research, that is a service that will obviously be performed by a competing economy -- whether emerging or not, a competing economy. And it is work that will not be done by the U.S. economy and our workers. The result is -- and this is at the margins at this point, but could grow to an increasingly larger share of the trade-deficit problem -- the result is further pressure on the U.S. economy.
And a further impact in terms of labor is not just the loss of jobs. Study after study, survey after survey, shows that every job that replaces one that is outsourced pays approximately 20 percent less than the job that was exported overseas. So we have a continuing downward pressure on wages in this country. That has an impact on education because obviously that money's not available to the tax base that pays for education. It diminishes, in point of fact, the income-tax base for the federal government and state governments. So the impact is broad and it is deep.
MJ.com: When asked about outsourcing during the presidential debates, George Bush talked about workers needing more education and more skills. But where will the jobs come from for them to use those skills?
LD: That's a question I've been asking for two years. This faith-based economics that seems to be the hallmark of this administration is leading us into a no man's land of inexplicable possibilities. This administration -- and frankly, it's both parties, Democrats and Republicans as well as the administration -- seems indifferent to the impact of a trade deficit that now amounts to $4 trillion in external debt. We have to borrow nearly $3 billion a day to support it. The dollar has plummeted. And yet everyone keeps saying, "Free trade is good for you." I cannot find anyone for whom free trade is good.
As we go deeper in debt, we continue to lose jobs and diminish our manufacturing base. Many people want to talk about our dependency on foreign oil, and it's a legitimate and real concern. But so is our dependency on the rest of the world for our clothing, our food, our computers and our consumer electronics. Our dependency isn't just on foreign oil; we can't even clothe ourselves. Free-trade economists will tell you we're a technology economy, but we don't even produce the technological components that are the foundation of a technology economy.
MJ.com: What steps have overseas markets such as India and the Philippines taken to attract these jobs?
LD: It's just a straightforward sales proposition: "Give us your business, whether it is Wall Street research, call centers or radiology, and we will provide the same service for one-tenth of what you're paying." It's impossible for an American worker to compete with that. It's not because the American worker is any less educated, because he or she is not. It's not because our workers are any less productive, because they're more productive. It's simply the labor-cost issues. In all the talk from the U.S multinationals, and the orthodoxy of business, government, academia and media, they're all using code words like "competitiveness," "productivity" and "efficiency." Those are simply code for "the cheapest possible labor."
MJ.com: It seems there isn't as much debate about the merits of outsourcing as one might expect in politics and in the media. Why do you think that is?
LD: Over the course of the past 20 years, there has been an absolute move to market-based economics. And there's a libertarian impulse to American politics right now, whether Democrat or Republican. That outlook, of course, means as little government as possible. What I'd like to see is a government that would actually be responsible for its citizens, who are workers as well as taxpayers, but that runs absolutely counter to the prevailing political notion, which is basically libertarian in foundation.
MJ.com: How do you respond to the free-traders' argument that outsourcing is a short-term problem required for long-term economic growth?
LD: Well, there's nothing short-term about 28 consecutive years of trade deficits. There's nothing short-term about a mounting external debt as a result of our reliance on imports -- an external debt that has reached $4 trillion. I see no basis whatsoever for the sophistry that's coming from some of the conservative think tanks and much of academia that says this is a short-term issue. This is real and present pain for literally millions of Americans, and a clear and present danger to an economy that has generated most of the wealth of the entire world over the past 50 years. We could be near the end of that role.
MJ.com: Proponents of outsourcing also point to what they call "insourcing," with overseas companies opening factories here. Does that provide any hope?
LD: It's an interesting semantic game that has been played in the free-trade debate. The Bush administration has created this expression of "insourcing" to counter arguments and concerns about outsourcing of American jobs to cheaper labor markets. When they talk about insourcing, they're really referring to foreign direct investment in this country. We can't even keep up with the Chinese government on foreign direct investment in this country; China has for the first time surpassed the United States in that regard.
The Japanese car plants are here because Ronald Reagan -- who many of the so-called free traders hold up as a paragon of free trade -- demanded that those plants be created here if they were going to participate in our economy and enjoy the benefits of the world's largest consumer economy. That wasn't free trade; it was rational, balanced, reciprocal trade -- which is the course we should be pursuing right now, and which all of our trade partners are pursuing. We're the only nation in the world that just mindlessly opens our markets irrespective of the constraints on our own goods and services.
MJ.com: You talk about the need for a balanced middle ground between protectionism and wide-open trade. What would be an ideal balance?
LD: Overall, we're going to have trade deficits with a given country and a given economy. But we should not be borrowing money to support our consumption habits over the course of 28 years. The argument has been styled by the free-traders as opposition between economic isolationists and free trade. The fact is free trade isn't working, and nobody's talking about economic isolationism. We're talking about mutuality and balance in which we eliminate deficits and maintain vigorous, healthy trade with the world. But that requires that we have a manufacturing base and reduce our dependency on foreign oil, clothing and a host of other goods and services that we can no longer afford to import.
MJ.com: Do you see a tipping point where the U.S. will have outsourced so many jobs that the economy becomes unsustainable?
LD: The Federal Reserve did a study four years ago that demonstrated that any time a trade deficit rose above 5 percent of a national economy's GDP, an inflection point had been created. We are now approaching 6 percent of GDP. Obviously, I hope this does not result in crisis. That is, a debt crisis because of the amount of money we have to borrow from overseas to support our imports, nor a diminishment of our tax base through outsourcing to the point that jobs become so poor-paying that we can't maintain our tax base. But all of that is entirely possible unless people awaken to the dangers that are being posed. I know this is dull stuff for many people, to talk about external debt and currency devaluations. But the fact is, they're all in prospect if we do not reverse these mindless policies.
MJ.com: What type of protections can the U.S. include in future trade agreements to place the American worker at less of a disadvantage?
LD: To make the American worker more competitive, what we should really be talking about is preserving the American way of life. Environmental protection. Protection for our working men and women. That has built up over 100 years in this country, and we are simply at risk of losing all of those protections. As we should have with NAFTA, we should sign only agreements with protections on the environment and on labor. Either we have that with every trading partner, or we will be at a disadvantage.
The ultimate extension of the free-trade policies that are being pursued is that not only will there be a race to the bottom for wages for working men and women, but we're also going to have to eradicate the "inconvenient" and uncompetitive environmental protections that allow us to drink clean water and breathe clean air. And, by the way, those nasty child-labor laws could be an encumbrance to competitiveness; maybe we should get rid of those as well. How far are we going to roll back the progress of the past century?
MJ.com: If the federal government were suddenly to choose to fight outsourcing, what should it do?
LD: The first issue is to stop the destruction of an American job. The principal issue I have with outsourcing is that American companies -- based in the United States, providing goods and services to the U.S. consumer economy -- are killing jobs in this country and sending them overseas to provide the same goods and services back to the U.S. economy. I have no problem if they want to invest and create a market in India or the Philippines or wherever. That's great, but don't kill an American job and put it in the hands of someone making one-tenth as much just to send that same good or service back to the United States. That's what's unique and different, and that's what has to be stopped. As far as ways to do it, we could do it with regulation. One would hope that before that, corporate America would find a conscience. But failing that, regulation is entirely necessary, I'm all for it, and my apologies to the libertarians.
MJ.com: What about those jobs already shipped overseas? Could some of those come back?
LD: Some of those jobs are already coming back, because companies are finding that despite whatever huge labor savings [the gain], there are also hidden costs, including the quality of the programming that's being done. For example, the quality of the code work that's being done by programmers in a number of the cheap labor markets, including India. Indian workers are remarkable people, highly entrepreneurial and well-educated, but they still cannot compete with American programmers where it's a matter of quality instead of cost. There's also a bit of a backlash now on the export of these jobs on the part of consumers. And my guess is that backlash is going to rise, and there will be economic costs as a result.
MJ.com: It seems like you've been more active about outsourcing than probably any other issue during your years as a journalist. Why has this issue gotten you so involved?
LD: Because at a time when this economy needed to be growing jobs, we were exporting jobs. At a time of economic downturn, we were raising the U.S. trade deficit even further. And the sophistry of the free-trade orthodoxy -- talking about how uneducated Americans are, how unproductive and incapable of competing -- just frankly rankles the hell out of me. We were smart enough in the ‘90s to generate 22 million new jobs. Did we, in the course of four years, become so stupid, so lazy and so unproductive, or did something else change? I maintain something else changed, and that was policies that permitted destructive business practices like outsourcing, and a continuation of free-trade policies that are leading to greater trade deficits and greater indebtedness on the part of the United States. We simply cannot sustain the path we're on.
Page 1 of 1 
I live in Oklahoma where General Motors closed its manufacturing plant and an estimated 7500 people were left without jobs and others without retirement benefits that they were just a few years from receiving. I am writing a paper for college on this subject and the more I learn the more angry I become. I am 40 years old so what kind of job is going to be waiting for me when I finish my Associates Degree in 2 years? Taco Bell or maybe Sonic.
I like the comments; but to support and share the idea I would like to know where I can find real numbers (stats) for supporting your comments?
What I would like to ask the multi-national corporations.....Who in the USA is going to be financially able to purchase your product.
The very wealthy will not keep the economy going.
Of all the things you mentioned that we
are now dependent on other countries to manfacture we are rapidly becoming dependent on foreign countries for our food supply and a very large portion of it is contaminated. Americans beware
Thank you for your list. I have been making an effort to not buy or do business with companies that have outsourced our jobs. While I am retired my pension and social Security is placed in jeopardy It is time the American public stopped trying to buy the cheapest product and looking for the made in America label or in the case of food grown and processed in the USA. I have noticed some food being marketed as grown in Canada, the USA or Mexico. To me that means grown in Mexico and I will not purchase. I have learned to read every label.
I totally agree Americans need to wake up and fast. I recently read in a book were a author stated that "there will always be jobs." His comments were "are we just frozen in time,have we stopped creating new things course not". Well how long do Americans have to wait for new technologies to have decent paying jobs. I also read that American are less productive and less educated and are lazy. I contend who made us this way American Coporations by telling the workers that they are worthless and others countries can do their jobs better, faster, and for less. Signed by an ANGRY TEXAN so called bush country. Ha Ha
Competitive Protectionism worked from the early 1800's until WWII....The United States was the dominant global economic power at the turn of the 20th century......now, we're headed toward an economic has been.
Why: Because we keep our markets open, while other countries do not. GATT and the WTO allow this.
Maybe it's tiome to tell teh American people the truth; the real wage levels of 80 to 90% of Americans.....is now at levels enjoyed in the 1950's...
When Bush and CO talk about GDP growth, keep in mind that 2/3rds of the growth goes to ONE PERCENT of the American population; there simply "ain't enough left over.....so the folks in Washington do what they do best....they lie. And, if you get the chance, ask those experts -- your reps in Congress, what the real GDP would be if they removed all those adjustments.
What it would prove is simply that "we are in a recession" right now; and if unemployment were presented in an accurate manner, unemployment and under-employment would exceed 20%.
People in Washington react to loud, angry constituents; but they will not tell you the truth; many of them probably don't even know the real truth about economics or any reports the government puts out.
Government has ONE GREAT rule; if a report tells the truth (like M3 - money supply), it simply stops getting published.
I would simply conclude that Congress, as a whole, and the TopCat in teh White House think the American people are stupid, and will never read about the wisdom of teh founding fathers economic plan.
Are you?
If not, grab a paperback, or search on the net and read and understand what the American Plan of trade actually stood for! It abhorred free trade; to the extent that international trade did occur, trade treaties enacted by Congress mandated reciprocity; only then was trade allowed.
The DC group prefers "give American prosperity away" economics; if there was less free trade, and American businesses were forced to invest in domest R&D and plant and equipment, american salaries would probably be 30 to 60% higher. Think not? Read about American economics - Founding Father style
Competitive Protectionism worked from the early 1800's until WWII....The United States was the dominant global economic power at the turn of the 20th century......now, we're headed toward an economic has been.
Why: Because we keep our markets open, while other countries do not. GATT and the WTO allow this. The more the American people know about economics, the more "peeved" they will be.
Maybe it's time to tell the American people the truth; the real wage levels of 80 to 90% of Americans.....is now at levels enjoyed in the 1950's...now, that is certainly progress, if "walking backwards" counts.
When Bush and CO talk about GDP growth, keep in mind that 2/3rds of the growth goes to ONE PERCENT of the American population; there simply "ain't enough left over....."so the folks in Washington do what they do best....they lie. And, if you get the chance, ask those experts -- your reps in Congress, what the real GDP would be if they removed all those adjustments.
What it would prove is simply that "we are in a recession" right now; and if unemployment were presented in an accurate manner, unemployment and under-employment would exceed 20%.
People in Washington react to loud, angry constituents; but they will not tell you the truth; many of them probably don't even know the real truth about economics or any reports the government puts out.
Government has ONE GREAT rule; if a report tells the truth (like M3 - money supply), it simply stops getting published.
I would simply conclude that Congress, as a whole, and the TopCat in the White House think the American people are stupid, and will never read about the wisdom of the founding fathers economic plan. And, as regards debt, the Founding Fathers were frugal; they actually believed in paying back debt; now, that's impressive. As for Mr. Bush, if he had to explain the American System as advanced by Alexander Hamilton....well, he couldn't but should.
Are you?
If not, grab a paperback, or search on the net and read and understand what the American Plan of trade actually stood for! It abhorred free trade; to the extent that international trade did occur, trade treaties enacted by Congress mandated reciprocity; only then was trade allowed.
The DC group prefers "give American prosperity away" economics; if there was less free trade, and American businesses were forced to invest in domest R&D and plant and equipment, american salaries would probably be 30 to 60% higher. Think not? Read about American economics - Founding Father style.
John Adams - on free trade -paraphrased ...if we endorsed such a policy....we should have the most luxiourous set of farmers that ever existed,and should not be able to defend our sea coast against the insults of a pirate."
Simply put, free trade "don't work, never has and never will." Free trade must be reciprocal and balanced -- perhaps then, if it is equitable, it has an opportunity to benefit everyone.
American free trade is based on "give away America." Let the American workforce be poor, and keep them stupid!
I'm always amazed that people don't seem to get the fact that outsoursing jobs is going to hurt this country and its population. Economic's can be a complicated subject to get your brain around sometimes but outsourcing jobs isn't brain surgery. Just stand back and say to yourself we're going to send your job overseas,and see if a big light doesn't come on over your head and a voice inside of you says THATS JUST STUPID,AND I SHOULD RUN THE OTHER WAY WHEN SOMEONE TELL'S ME ITS GOOD. I'd like to get all the free traders in a room someplace and buy them for what there worth and sell them for what they think they're worth.
I live in Illinois and I find it amazing that the American Government is turning on it's own people. I think Bush and Cheney's heads should be checked for 666. Damian has truly come to roost in the White House.
Interesting that the American taxpayers are supporting all these plans that they are against. The war, all the benefits given to the illegals, and the government helps outsource our jobs.America what a country.
Whats really going on here is that we have a broken checks and balances system. You see, when students graduate from college, the level of their training is usally stuck in the 80's 90's era, unless they get a Master Degree or higher (Read MIT). The learning curve to learn the actual technology that is being produced in global factories is so high that workers will likely fall on their face when they hit the workforce. Are our kids to blame for not learning enough? Probably not. Old engineers that started the innovations were under pressure to earn the companies money and retire well during their 40 year workspan. Over those years they produced some amazing technology, but at a cost. That cost is the new generation being expected to learn in a microcosm all the technology that has occured in the past 60 years, and to do it in a 2-4 year degree. Who's to blame, anybody? The balance just got lost somewhere along the way. What will it take to get hired by companies and earn a middle class wage, a Masters degree? At this rate, companies may start outsourcing to outerspace to have "illegal?" aliens continue building their uber advance technology as well as reducing cost.
I agree, When you find any country with a low manufacturing base you find a 3rd world country and we are there fast if not already. I really riled when Bush said we did not have factories to produce body armor for the men fighting in Iraq.
Iv'e tried but evidently CNN doesn't want Lou Dobbs to get this letter. Please forward it to him
Lou,
I know what you have said about running for office but, It is my sincere belief that a Ron Paul/Lou Dobbs ticket would be just what American Citizens need in their corner. I know you and I do not believe everything Dr. Paul stands for but I am probably no different with you and he. What matters is the best for our country!
Please read the following that I wrote to my own paper and if you can agree with three out of five of the Creed then you would be doing a dis-service to the country by not running.
I do not expect to see this on television but would like to hear from you.
What is Freedom and Liberty ?
As I sit here at 2:45 in the morning I began to wonder how we the people of Louisiana and the United States of America became such an apathetic bunch of sheep. How we have allowed GOVERNMENT to take over and rule our lives. I also ponder by what right the government takes such rights and liberties from the people it was meant to serve.
The Constitution of the United States was written to ensure that the people would always have Liberty and Freedom. It was written to protect us the People, from Government. What has been allowed to happen is just the opposite. The government now protects itself with no concern for the people. The platitudes from the politicians are nothing more than to keep us the People in the dark. The so called security measures voted through Congress (i.e.: The Patriot Act, US Real ID Act, The elimination of habeas corpus) has done more damage to our personal freedoms than anything a terrorist could ever do.
Upon searching the internet I found an interesting article called THE CREED OF FREEDOM by Mr. G. Edward Griffin author of The Creature from Jekyll Island, World without Cancer and many more truly great books.
What follows is inspiring and should be required reading for anyone that cares about freedom and liberty.
The Creed of Freedom
Intrinsic Nature of Rights
I believe that only individuals have rights, not the collective group: that these rights are intrinsic to each individual, not granted by the state; for if the state has the power to grant them, it also has the right to deny them, and that is incompatible with personal liberty.
I believe that a just government derives its power solely from the governed. Therefore, the state must never presume to do anything beyond what individual citizens also have the right to do. Otherwise, the state is a power unto itself and becomes the master instead of the servant of society.
Supremacy of the Individual
I believe that one of the greatest threats to freedom is to allow any group, no matter its numeric superiority, to deny the rights of the minority; and that one of the primary functions of a just government is to protect each individual from greed and passion of the majority.
Freedom of Choice
I believe that desirable social and economic objectives are better achieved by voluntary action than by coercion of law. I believe that social tranquility and brotherhood are better achieved by tolerance, persuasion, and the power of good example than by coercion of law. I believe that those in need are better served by charity, which is given of one’s own money, than by welfare, which is giving of other people’s money through coercion of law.
Equality under Law
I believe that all citizens should be equal under law, regardless or their national origin, race, religion, gender, education, economic status, lifestyle, or political opinion. Likewise, no class should be given preferential treatment, regardless of the merit or popularity of its cause. To favor one class over another is not equality under law.
Proper Role of Government
I believe the proper role of government is negative, not positive; defensive, not aggressive;. It is to protect, not to provide; for if the state is granted to provide for some, it must also be able to take from others, and once that power is granted, there are those who will seek it for their advantage. It always leads to legalized plunder and loss of freedom. If government is powerful enough to give us everything we want, it is also powerful enough to take from us everything we have. Therefore, the proper function of government is to protect the lives, liberty, and property of its citizens; nothing more. That government is best which governs least.
The time for a change in direction is now! It is time to get involved in the political process. Forget the political parties for they are just a continuation of the same for special interest groups and their pocket books. The Politicians call it public service but being paid for a job is not public service whether it is Local, State or Federal office. Become active! Our Constitution is under attack!
Please have Lou check this site! Very interesting, haven't seen this on any channel
http://judicialwatch.org/6340.shtml
I have been a business consultant for fortune 100 companies in NJ/NY for over tem years. It is disgusting what is happening! People are losing there jobs and a short time later being replaced by consultants from India. If fact all "permanent positions" are being placed under scrutiny because the so called "efficiency experts" come in and tell them how to save money by outsourcing mostly to Indian companies. It matters not if they bring the "offshore" resource here - they are still cheaper. All of the labor laws that we have worked for since the 60's have been totally erased in the past 7 years. It did not take military or terrorists to destroy us - it is our own corporations who are the traitors. My question is, if we are all losing our jobs and job security, who will be left to by the products and services of the greed based imperialistic corporations? Lou Dobbs should run for office. He is one of the only people speaking up! I'm sure that is a hard thing to do especially on CNN. Keep up the great work Lou! Thank you!
Hello I work for one of the companies on the list. Parker-Hannifin. Parker-Hannifin is closing the facility that I am working at in Virginia. Parker-Hannifin is moving our products to Mexico. Parker-Hannifin pays the Mexican people $12.00 a day. The employees in Virginia have stated how they feel helpless because we have no choice in this decision that has been made. I hope everyone in the USA will stand together and let the company's know that if they continue to move our jobs out of this country we will not buy there goods. I really want to try and stop future company's from taking our lives and doing with them what ever they please. If anyone has any comments please send them to me at kerensa2005@yahoo.com
I worked Valhoma in Tulsa Ok for 13 years. Guess what?? The people in China are doing it now. Do a poll of the people who have lost there jobs to outsourcing.
I worked for Valhoma in Tulsa Ok for 13 years. Guess what?? The people in China are doing it now. Do a poll of the people who have lost there jobs to outsourcing.
I am working for a company that keeps acquiring other institutions and then they are Outsourcing the jobs to other countries. I was called on the phone and told that my last month is October.
About 10 years ago I became very ill (LUPUS and Diabetes)but still worked hard, the last 2 years my illnes caused me to have major surgery twice in one month. I went back to work, after being stressed by a team lead who wanted to show who is in charge I requested that I work with a previous manager, one month later I was told my job was going to Mexico because of cheaper labor.
What I want to say that corporate america does not care a bit of the people who made them who they are.
I am mad as hell because with my disabilities and I am my own caregiver it is difficult.
What and where is America doing and going. I believe that we will soon fall to our knees. Coporate America is selling out this country.
Lou, I enjoy listening to you everyday and you are an advocate for us. We need jobs and the government needs to step in.
Lou Dobbs lives in a 300 acres ranch bought though his populist TV programmes. People who believe him are the gullible lower middle class public-the very public who buys Chinese toys and clothes from Walmart and most of the malls without complaining.
Without free bilateral trade, America would be another Soviet Union.
Famous economics book says - economic efficiency is gained when countries produce goods that they are most efficient at.
BTW , who voted for George Bush?
I worked for Boeing for 29 years, retired now. In that time I watched a fully independent company that was capable of building commercial and military aircraft under any conditions, change to a company that is fully dependent upon outsourced components. That scares the hell out of me because history shows that yesterday's friend is tomorrow's foe. I dont feel comfortable that our military and commercial future, be it in the aircraft industry or elsewhere, as well as our national security, lies in the hands of foreign nations.
I'd like a list of all the companies who haven't outsourced their employees. The list from Dobbs on the companies who do outsource American jobs is 14 pages long. It would be helpful to buy American if the public were provided a list of which companies maintain American jobs in America. This country needs to start another "Buy American" campaign, where every component of the product on the shelf is made in America by Americans. workers.
I'd like a list of all the companies who haven't outsourced their employees. The list from Dobbs on the companies who do outsource American jobs is 14 pages long. It would be helpful to buy American if the public were provided a list of which companies maintain American jobs in America. This country needs to start another "Buy American" campaign, where every component of the product on the shelf is made in America by Americans. workers.
We need to organize a nation wide Boycott on all goods & Services that are made by American Companies, but are manufactured outside the USA.
Are all you Americans who do not want to buy goods made overseas in order to keep Americans employed equally ready to hinder American made goods from being exported?
Or are you advocating a system of one way protectionism?
I, for one am thrilled that China screwed Mattel up. You get what you pay for. Any sign Lou we may be having a rush to resource our jobs back to America?
Mr Dobbs,
You did such a great job of nameing the companys that started outsourcing American job in the 90's, could you make a list telling us which, if any, have come back, and, I'd like to find a bank, grocery store, and other industries that have kept it right here in the good ole USA.
Jolene
Hurry back Lou.
I can not believe you would have thrown the soft balls to the 2 congressmen appearing on 18 September concerning our inport problems She did not hit them on the root of the problem ,WTO and NAFTA , but rather on patches.
Currently I am unemployed or underemployed (depending on when you read this) after having been layed off 3 years ago. I was working in "skilled" technical positions for a company for over 12 years. Of the 5 positions I held there during that time, 4 have been outsourced to India and the Phillipines. I wonder who will buy all of corporate America's products when we are all out of jobs. It is a sad day in America. I have printed the list and will not use the products of these companies if there is ANY other choice at ANY cost. Mr. Dobbs - thank you for pusblishing the list! The company I worked for IS on it.
Is there a list of companies that provide products that are "Made in America" so we can more easily find them and support them?
I recall what this country was like when I returned from Navy service in 1946 and through the next 20 years or so when all we had was produced in this country. I recall living on a dollar a day in Europe in 1954-55. Why did we sell out this nation's infrastructure? But most important & unrealized by most is the necessity for NEGATIVE POPULATION GROWTH. No technological solutions can solve our energy and global warming problems. As an economist Kenneth Boulding put it:"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on for ever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.".
I wish The future Government really understand the imlications of outsourcing the US jobs for some cheap labor!!!!!and inturn bring those serviced products back to the US consumers
For years we have just looked the other way while allowing Washington (our Elected Representatives) to sell our country to the highest bidder in order to make big profits for CEO's and we will all have to pay the consequences. We are so dependant on other nations to supply our "needs" that we are now at their mercy! If we disolved our dependency on these nations, we could not exist anymore! We no longer grow our own food, have manufacturing plants and industries to be self-sufficient and strong. We are now being BLACKMAILED by our country's owner...CHINA! We are even allowing Mexico to dictate and interpret our laws. We find ourselves bowing down to them in fear of offending them! The "illegal aliens" now have more rights than the citizens of this once great Nation! We REWARD them for being breaking the law! America...WAKE UP and LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Don't succumb to this type of fear and cowardness! Since when have we become so intimidated? Is it too late to take back and reclaim the country we call "home"?
Sherri, the sad thing is just how many minimum wage jobs can you work in a 24 hrs period in order to support yourself? Not taking into consideration you might need to repay college loans or have a family to care for...........
AMERICAN CORPORATIONS KNOW NO BOUNDS WHEN IT COMES TO GREED AND MONEY,WE DO NOT HAVE A PRESIDENT BUT BUSINESS MAN THAT MAKES MONEY FOR HIS RICH BUSINESS BUDDIES.JUST LOOK WHO IS MAKEING THE MONEY IN IRAG,HOW MANY MORE AMERICAN SOLDIERS MUST DIE BEFORE THEY HAVE ENOUGH MONEY. BUT WE ARE TO BLAME FOR WE LET IT HAPPENED,THE OTHER CASULETY IS THE MIDDLE CLASS ALL IN THE NAME OF GREED.
Lou,
We need a list made for TV of everyone that is in office today, so that we voters can vote everyone of them OUT OF OFFICE in 2008
Gap, is lying again about the sweat shops. India, is not the only sweat shop Gap has. An investigation is needed here in the US also. Gap uses scare tactics on employees in Ohio, threats of being fired for not reaching monthly uph, which are so high employees are getting hurt trying to reach the 100% they demand every month.
The government should look into these unfair tactics.
I think all news showes should start petitions on immagrations and have people put their names on it and their addresses and send it to congress and senate and to president of U.S. plus inform them that they are freuding the american people by the consitiution that they took an otha to stand for american rights. if not we have the right to take them out by petition to vote them out.all we need is a news person who will help put the paper in motion.
put very high tariff on Chinese goods
and tax all manufactures that outsource
to china more to help get America back
on it feet
Guess you did not get the word yet? We are all racist for wanting a solution to the immigration problem.
Do you hear the racist comments coming from the illegal immigrants lobby? Talk about a special interest group? 30 million and growing, corporations in their pocket, politicians that have their vote. Try 60 million and growing,
I cannot find a listing of American Co's who are based in china, nor foods (naming brands) from china
I admire Lou Dobbs for speaking the truth about this world we live in. Us middle class people are having the worst time of our lives trying to survive. We have modest small FHA houses and even if they are paid for there are a lot of us who live on a set income who are struggleing to keep what we have. It looks as if it's going to come to a point where us little people will be living on the streets. Our Government is not what it pretends to be. They are living high on the hog, so to speek, we are paying for it.
The jobs that were sent overseas was a BAD mistake on the Government's part. The people of the United States have everything taken away from us because the Government want's to keep putting money in their pocket's which is what they are doing. We the people need to start fighting back by protesting and emailing letter's or writting letters to the President and Congress. Do what it takes to take our country back along with jobs and etc. Send all the illegal's BACK to their own home. If they try they might be able to make a differance in their own country.
I wish there was a person or a company who would unite the people of this country to take action - making a commitment to buy only American, to protest government's use of our taxes to pay for their salaries, health care, and ridiculous pensions, to stand up to stop this war in Iraq and bring our family members home, to bring jobs back to America, a huge push for altenative fuels so we are NOT depend on oil and to give our children a hope for the country they will have in the next 20 years.
unfortuneately voting is useless for elections are rigged,corruption has spread throughout government so badly anyone that was elected that has good intentions would succumb to the pressure
of the powers that be.(the ultra rich) The only thing the people can really do to bring about any real change is to compile a list of all these ultra rich bastards and show them the business end of our musket!! Remember the tea party anyone? Making people aware is only part of the equation.
I can sum it all up in one word"DERUGLATION".When we done away with it on big business you see the results.It has turned them loose to do what they please and the politicians are so indepted to them they can't do anything about it.Like Lou says "The best goverment money can buy.I listen to Lou every night and would like to know why no one in the media talks about what deregulations has done to this country.
I am a long time fan of the show and never miss the program if I can help it. Tonight I am absolutley DISGUSTED that with the show! Christine Romans read the poll number for the Republicans and Ron Paul was excluded. The fact that Paul is AHEAD of McCain and yet McCain was included and Paul was left out is reprehensible. I trust Lou Dobbs and his reporters to always tell the truth. But not any more. Tonight showed me that this show is biased. I feel like my trust and faith in the intergrity of this show has been shattered.
Lou, I have just recently found you, and read your new book, "Independent" What a read. I have to tell you, now you are my new hero, I had no idea there was anybody out there like you, I must confess I tuned out years ago simply because I could not wade thru all the P----P I do not know if this will reach you personally, but from this day forward I am tuned into you, and ready willing and able to do whatever you think is best for us to do to save our country. I just could never figure out how to address any issue that we were fed on lies and that is all there is. Most of us are so busy surviving we let all of this happen without a single word. Now I am mad as HELL and I am not going to take it anymore and am ready now to do whatever I can to help for the future of our grandchildren. I am a senior now and so ashamed for allowing all of these predators to take our country away from us.
