Effects of Offshore Outsourcing in U.S.

"Global sourcing not the end of U.S. —it is good for the U.S."

"If you build it, they will come" but if you opt to delegate "it" to strangers, there may be consequences.

Outsourcing has proven profitable not only for domestic and foreign technology and manufacturing industries but also for the livelihood of families working in those foreign coutries. It is difficult for domestic and foreign companies to see the harm in outsourcing even when it is argued that sweat shops and child labor are often associated with foreign manufacturing. "It's all relative" when you consider that many families in foreign countries choose to work in sweat shops, rely on their children to work, and are unaware that child labor laws even exist. For these families, the jobs made available through outsourcing, in whatever conditions they are offered, are often far better than alternative sources of income. This known fact is likely to clear the conscience of those domestic and foreign companies involved in outsourcing when they abandon integrity for the notion of "what's in it for me." It is also likely to assure these companies that "everybody's a winner."

It is still debatable, however, whether or not outsourcing is good for the United States. Mattel outsources the manufacturing of their toys to China because it is more profitable than domestic manufacturing. Recently Mattel was forced to recall millions of those toys because they contained lead paint and China is one of the few countries where the use of lead paint is not banned. China has since agreed not to use lead paint in their exported goods to the U.S. but that decision means increasing Mattel's manufacturing costs which ultimately "trickle down" to consumers.

Companies may often argue that outsourcing  seemed like a good idea at the time but "good reason" is a relative concept. "Hindsight is always 20/20" simply because mistakes are not seen in advance. What is seen are dollar signs for both the companies that outsource and the foreign countries involved. On their website concerning safety, Mattel defends that "no system is perfect." Evidently for Mattel, perfection is relative to profitability but for consumers, perfection is relative to the safety of children. It may seem unfair to claim that companies involved in outsourcing are just being greedy but when consumers pay costly and sometimes dangerous consequences, "the shoe fits."