Get angry: Congress can't even agree to mildly discourage outsourcing | ZDNet

I think I’m happy that my formal training is in computer science, rather than in law. Both disciplines create documents that follow a formal structure, but somehow, it seems easier to read code than it does to decipher the status and meaning of a bill before Congress.

I’m bringing this up because our own Jason Perlow turned me on to two outsourcing-related bills winding their way through Congress. The bills, H.R.5622 and S. 3816 claim to reduce outsourcing and bring jobs back to the United States. More From ZDNet

Techs in the US are frustrated with their congress' attitude towards these bills to reduce outsourcing. I sympathize with their sentiments, but I believe the US has no other option but to let outsourcing as it is. While the US remains to be the largest economy in this world, it is not strong enough to set the boundaries of globalization. And besides, why shall the US try to do that when after the world war II countless effort in their part has been made to develop a global economy.

The advent of the internet has expedited this development. Now many types of labor which used to be immobile became highly mobile. A software technician for example, doesn't have to be in his customer's location anymore to resolve many complex software issues. In fact, he can be half way across the globe and yet still be as effective if not better as someone on site. Not to mention the hassle of scheduling a tech visit and the risk it takes to have someone (not a relative or a friend) in you house. Furthermore, multi-national companies just can't resist the opportunity to minimize labor cost and real asset taxes which they can find in less countries like the Philippines.

Demands for these newly mobile labor now shift from their original locations to places where they are relatively cheap. This means job loss usually for US based techs, sales and customer service reps. But is this bad? maybe for those who lost their jobs the moment they lost it. However in a broader perspective, this what David Ricardo called comparative advantage. The exodus of these jobs to third world countries is a sign that the global economy is well developed - the fruits of what the US had been doing in the past few decades.

How can outsourcing be good to the US? Undeniably, the United States still has the comparative advantage when it comes to financial capital. This is where their government should lead their people - to be business men not laborers. As labor became mobile, so as capital. This means that while a third world country based tech can serve US clients so does a US based businessman can do business everywhere.