Lost American Jobs

In the 1960s, manufacturing jobs, such as building cars and applilcances, formed a vital part of the American economy. Then, companies outsourced many of these jobs China and Mexico. Americans turned to the service sector, with opportunities in tech support and customer service.

Now, the trend is to outsource these jobs to save costs and to increase profits. Many of us have called our telephone provider to resolve a billing issue and talked to a representative thousands of miles away, in India perhaps.

Such a situation has frightened people into believing their jobs will be next to go. As Steve Mushero in "Off-Shoring the Middle Class" has said, we are not alone, since change is global. A positive side to this story is that other countries are outsourcing jobs to the United States. We can acquire skills that these foreign employers need.

And, the government and American companies can do more to help those workers who've lost their jobs to outsourcing. Training and education can boost our ability to compete in a global market.