States Struggle to Control Outsourcing

Two-thirds of state officials are taking action to bring jobs “outsourced” by foreign subcontractors back to the U. S. States are offering extra points in the biding process for companies hiring only American labor and renegotiating state contracts that previously subcontracted work to foreign countries, according to the Associated Press.

Efforts, however, have been stalled by taxpayers petitioning for lower taxes with no regard for where a product has been made or the impact this has on the American economy.

For example, Kansas senators legally mandated that call centers answering questions about welfare be manned by American workers, after discovering that Indian workers with an Arizona company, eFUnds, had been subcontracted to do the work.

The stipulation was removed when officials learned it would boost the states costs by $640,000—about 38 percent. Ed Cratt, a North Carolina general store owner, discusses these losses; a VF Jeans plant, where Wranglers were once made, a Perdue chicken-processing plant, and an Eagle Snacks plant, where he used to work all closed shop; thousands of jobs were lost.