SPP Alumn
Examines the Cost of Outsourcing
“Outsourcing America: What’s Behind Our National
Crisis and How Can We Reclaim American Jobs?” examines
the practice and impact of sending American jobs
to other countries.
In
an interview, SPP alumnus Ron Hira said that
he and his brother Anil Hira wrote the 236-page
text to educate an American readership that
remains in the dark about the effects of
outsourcing. “Many
smart people have made up their minds without
examining the facts or reflecting on its implications” Hira
said.
He added, “We hope that it will
provide people enough information to draw
their own judgments about outsourcing. And
we hope to help reframe the policy debate,
which to date has been misframed as free
trade versus protectionism.”
Outsourced jobs are extending
beyond the manufacturing sector to include
white-collar professionals, particularly in
information technology, financial services
and customer service; and the types of jobs
vulnerable to being outsourced continues to
grow in scale and scope, according to Hira. “‘Outsourcing
America reveals just how much outsourcing is
taking place, what its impact is and will be,
and what can be done about the loss of jobs,” he
said.
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More information
on the book, including a sample chapter,
can be found here.
View this book
on Amazon.com |
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In
the book, the Hira brothers argue that business and
political leaders should
adopt certain policies
to create and retain more high-paying jobs in the United
States. Their suggestions include reforming visa and
trade policies, overhauling training and assistance
programs for displaced workers, ensuring that American
workers’ interests are represented in the policy-making
process, making healthcare and pensions more portable,
taking a pragmatic approach to government procurement
and reasserting the U.S. position as a global leader
in technology.
The authors state, “The problem isn’t
so much that outsourcing is happening as how it is
happening. The key is to maximize its positive effects
while mitigating the negative ones. The government
has essentially done nothing to date.”
The
book launch in Washington, D.C., will be held on
June 8 at the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars.
SPP alumnus Ron Hira, Ph.D., P.E.,
is a recognized expert on outsourcing and the only
person to testify
twice before Congress on its implications. He has given
more than 60 invited lectures on outsourcing to general,
professional, academic and government audiences; has
appeared on national television and radio; and, has
been widely quoted in major newspapers and magazines.
He is participating on the Council on Foreign Relations’ Research
Roundtable on Technology, Innovation and America’s
Primacy and the Council on Competitiveness’ National
Innovation Initiative. He teaches public policy at
Rochester Institute of Technology, and lives in Rochester,
NY.
Anil Hira, Ph.D., is a specialist in international
economic policy and trade issues. He teaches political
science and Latin American studies at Simon Fraser
University in Vancouver, and lives in Burnaby, British
Columbia. |
