How Does Ron Paul Feel About Outsourcing? (Congress, wages, salaries)
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I don't recall hearing his stance on this topic. What is his position on our trade deficit and what does he plan to do about it? Does he favor tariffs?
What possible difference could it make how Ron Paul or any other candidate feels about outsourcing? It isn't like they can do anything about it.
Personally, outsourcing has been a boon to me in my industry. When corporations sent their programming overseas they didn't have to pay the going rate in the US. However, when they got their projects back they didn't meet their expectations. Communication and cultural problems made the design of their applications virtually useless. Now I have more work redesigning and rewriting those same applications than I can handle.
I can't say this is true for every outsourced industry, but in regard to the programming profession outsourcing has come back to bite industry squarely in the behind.
What possible difference could it make how Ron Paul or any other candidate feels about outsourcing? It isn't like they can do anything about it.
This is unfortunately a very common misconception. Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, stopped outsourcing dead with tariffs that gave way to the industrial base that once dominated the U.S. These politicians that claim nothing can be done to bring industries back to the U.S. are lying through their teeth to appease their financial contributors.
I don't recall hearing his stance on this topic. What is his position on our trade deficit and what does he plan to do about it? Does he favor tariffs?
Ron Paul hasn't directly used the term "outsourcing" in anything I've read or heard about. He has directly stated that he feels that corporations can and should police their own actions in a free market and that a free market involves limited government intervention in general and that he supports that notion completely. He believes that when a healthy free market is formed most issues seen and talked about today will go away.
Here's a couple links to what I have been able to find online only after a lot of digging (It is inconceivably difficult to find information on any of the presidential candidate positions on outsourcing... other than Obama calling out Clinton on an India-relationship, nothing appears to be published on this topic). Ron Paul has great ideas for trade deficit repair (the first link below), but other than brief discussion about H-1 visas Ron Paul has not addressed the outsourcing of US labor at least to my satisfaction, anywhere I can find online.
Paul on Economics in the Spin Room After the Debate
Articles | Ron Paul 2008 Revolution - Ron Paul for President - Daily Paul (broken link)
After initially feeling wonderful about Ron Paul I realized the above was his stance and he may be naive to believe it (or perhaps I just need someone to explain this concept more indepth to me because I have some healthy skepticism). I lean more towards that idea that top level corporate greed left unchecked will not miraculously police itself and make decisions for the common good. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't in the past, so why would it start now? Isn't it true that if not for laws developed to protect people it is a simple fact that young children would be forced to work, there would be a 7 day work-week, and an 8 hour day would be unheard of (people would be working 12+ hours per day?
The reality is that I look at what Clinton has stated regarding h1-b visas and outsourcing and I just shake my head - she is completely in favor of increasing both, irrefutably. Any US citizen who votes for her is either unknowledgable about what that means, or they run their own large company so they are unaffected (or directly benefit bonus-wise) by the issue. Everyone else should really reconsider carefully voting for her because hardly any occupation is immune from the outsourcing phenomena. Obama doesn't seem much better, although he has called out Clinton on ties and actions related to India... it's rather easy to see that he has no plan of action or position statement regarding outsourcing. None of the Republican candidates have addressed h1-b visas nor outsourcing either (other than a few statements mirroring Clinton's pro h1-b visa expansion plans).
I fundamentally don't agree with Ron Paul's implied position on Outsourcing but I trust that within the context of US constitutional interpretation and support, that Ron Paul won't send our country down the tubes for money or political power the way his opponents will. I'd love to hear him address this topic more indepth somewhere so I can feel better about supporting him. Overally, I agree with Ron Paul that scaling back government services, regulation, and spending in general will solve many of this country's fiscal issues. I like his idea about moving back towards the Gold Standard to help solve international trade imbalances, and lastly I feel very comfortable with the notion that individuals need to have our rights preserved and protected.
Last edited by belovenow; 10-15-2007 at 07:38 AM..
Here is what he said in a dialog initiated via the Washington Post:
"Outsourcing is a reflection of a bad economic environment domestically. If you fix that, you fix outsourcing. Our primary export is paper money, and that should change if you change the monetary policy. We should drop the Overseas Investment Protection Corporation -- which makes taxpayers cover losses for U.S. companies doing business in foreign countries -- have a sound currency and lower taxes. With that we could become competitive again, but that is going to be very very difficult."
I'd suggest reading Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman's works to gain perspective on outsourcing and free trade. Tariffs are counter productive in the end.
I have a pony in the race, I'm a network engineer where outsourcing has been happening. Having to compete with India and China's low wages has created an interesting paradigm. Since outsourcing increased, Indian workers have demanded higher salaries. Higher salaries coupled with cultural differences, lower productivity, and lower quality output have affected how companies here view outsourcing. But I support free trade... the overall cost of goods and services will decline and the currency will adjust accordingly.
Here is what he said in a dialog initiated via the Washington Post:
"Outsourcing is a reflection of a bad economic environment domestically. If you fix that, you fix outsourcing. Our primary export is paper money, and that should change if you change the monetary policy. We should drop the Overseas Investment Protection Corporation -- which makes taxpayers cover losses for U.S. companies doing business in foreign countries -- have a sound currency and lower taxes. With that we could become competitive again, but that is going to be very very difficult."
Indeed, I've read various pieces about RP and the H-1B visa program, and based on his stance he doesn't seem to be much of a populist on the issue.
Regarding outsourcing and the link posted by NewToCA, it does indeed seem RP subscribes to the "magic hand" principle of capitalism, a model that does not work where absolute advantage can be chosen over Ricardo's comparative advantage. Unless RP changes his position, he won't be receiving the vote of this SW engineer turned real estate appraiser. Corporations have demonstrated they will lie, cheat, and do whatever they can in order to increase their profits at the expense of the middle and working classes of this nation, and I will not support any non-populist who will not reign in corporatist greed.
This is unfortunately a very common misconception. Former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, stopped outsourcing dead with tariffs that gave way to the industrial base that once dominated the U.S. These politicians that claim nothing can be done to bring industries back to the U.S. are lying through their teeth to appease their financial contributors.
What unmitigated hogwash. Only Congress can impose tariffs, not Presidents and certainly not the Secretary of the Treasury. Perhaps you should learn a little bit about how your own government functions before asking such moronic questions.
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