Jos,

Continuing my alternative 'take' on the subject...

>Hi Jordan, what you say is true. But outsourcing is not, and does not have to be, a zero-sum game if one looks beyond the impact it has directly on oneself or someone we know. For instance, a particular worker in a particular field may lose their job but the company which outsourced:
>
>1) becomes more profitable,

No argument there. That's exactly why its done.

>2) which in turn benefits society in terms of higher taxes paid,

Really? I don't think so (at least not in Canada or the U.S.).
- fewer workers results in less personal income taxes being paid;
- fewer workers results in less space needed to house that staff, resulting in less local taxes for realty and the like;
- most companies pay very very little in the way of taxes while many corporations are huge beneficiaries of "corporate welfare".

>3) higher salaries and bonus' for those still employed in the company,

That used to be so. But now (as I've mentioned at least twice in thread in CHATTER forum) DEFLATION is the watchword of the day. Wages are going DOWN, not up, as profits remain stable or rise (but not 'enough').
But it is true that the EXECUTIVE DO GIVE THEMSELVES NICE BIG BONUSES.

>4) ability for the company to reinvest the additional profits and cost savings into new ventures and products, and new R&D,

Yes, they have that ability but it is used less and less frequently. Today, at the behest of majority shareholders (pension funds managers) profits are pushed into share value and dividends. THIS QUARTER matters and the overall long-term benefits of such activities get short-shrift.

>5) which in turn can give rise to new job creation

Hopefully the above shows you how it RARELY HAPPENS.
>
>The whole thing is far more complicated than it is often made out to be. And I repeat, the consumer chooses it and must accept responsibility for their lifestyle choices and the impact that has.


AGREED that it is complicated. But the most salient point is that the old axioms are no longer operative!
That the "consumer chooses" is pure unadulterated pooh. The consumer get to decide only from what is presented. I'm afraid that I cannot accept responsibility for the poor choices made available to me, nor for the rampant exploitation of poor workers around the globe who must suffer as they do in the name of MY HAVING CHOSEN FOR THEM TO DO SO! I have not, and never will!

>
>As Steven Covey says "You cannot talk your way out of problems that you behave yourself into".

I'd have to agree with that, and I say it is time that we started behaving responsibly rather than letting other people with undeclared interests TELL us how we're behaving and lay the blame on us for our poor choices (of no choice).