Outsourcing the state: A less uniform approach

Another round of outsourcing hysteria is flaring up again, fueled by the China-made Olympic uniform controversy, claims by Obama and Democrats that Mitt Romney outsourced American jobs overseas during his days at Bain Capital, claims by Romney that some Obama stimulus money went to foreign firms and workers, and a recent bill introduced in the Senate that would ban American companies from deducting expenses of moving production overseas from the U.S.

The political news is replete these days with discussions of outsourcing and trade, and two stories are driving that discussion: (1) whether US presidential candidate Mitt Romney's firm Bain Capital outsourced US-based business operations to foreign countries; and (2) why the Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms of the US Olympic team are made in China, instead of the United States.

Many campaigning politicians love to blame "outsourcing" for the woes of the US job market, and to brand their opponents as supporting policies - like US FTAs and blanket opposition to tax hikes on US multinational corporations - that "send American jobs overseas."  Indeed, the "outsourcing" bogeyman has become an express part of the Democratic Party's "Make It in America" campaign platform, and "pro-outsourcing" accusations are a staple of Democrats' c

Royal Bank of Canada has landed in the middle of a public relations fiasco following reports over the weekend that it is in the process of contracting out jobs of Canadian staffers to lower paid foreign workers. In this case we’re talking about just 45 positions at RBC Investor Services in Toronto that according to the CBC will be transferred abroad through a deal with iGate Corp., a leading global provider of outsourcing services with significant operations in India.

While governments are money-strapped, corporations are “awash in cash,” and Canada needs them to help pay for infrastructure and services, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday. “The reality is that governments are cash short. The good news is that the balance sheets of corporations in Canada are very strong and are awash in cash,” Mr. Flaherty told about 1,500 delegates at the annual conference for the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnership in Toronto.

BLOOMBERG -- "Jean Keller earned $269,810 last year working as a nurse at a men’s prison on California’s central coast by tripling her regular pay with overtime hours. Keller got more overtime in 2010 than any other state employee. In all, California’s public workers collected $1.7 billion of extra pay last year, more than half of it in overtime, state payroll data show.