Outsourcing America: What's Behind Our National Crisis and How We Can Reclaim American Jobs (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Anil Hira (Author)
Key Phrases: outsourcing advocates, offshore outsourcing, domestic outsourcing, United States, Silicon Valley, New York Times (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two Ph.D.s weigh in on globalism's hottest button. In the Hiras' preface, they note that "Ronald Reagan made most Americans feel proud because he stood for American values, including supporting democracy and free markets abroad." That kind of giant, unexamined assertion does not bode well for a work purporting to be analytical, and this book is best read as a polemic. The economic arguments are legitimate, but following the CNN anchor's foreword calling for a moratorium on outsourcing, the two economist authors give subtle and not-so-subtle cues throughout, starting with the subtitle, that they find the practice dubious at best. Yet, in a refreshing change from the spate of protectionist conservatives calling for the end of outsourcing, the Hiras (they are brothers) offer a worker-friendly set of prescriptions that include adequate notice, legislated relief for displaced workers and—hold on to your desk chair—Canadian-style socialized medicine. A decidedly mixed bag, this book contains surprises. (May 26)
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Review

"...I want to encourage every reader of the Chief Engineer to pick up a copy of this important book." -- Chief Engineer

"..a comprehensive and illuminating account of the debate on offshore outsourcing.." -- Manufacturing & Technology News

"There are many reasons why this book on oveseas outsourcing is worth reading." -- Inland Empire Business Journal

"[The authors] provide a balanced, comprehensive, and easy-to-read analysis of the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries." -- Choice Magazine

..an excellent book that brings clarity to this troubling subject -- Library Journal

There are many reasons why this book on overseas outsourcing is worth reading. -- The Public Register

[The authors] present a clear and convincing picture." -- The Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; illustrated edition edition (May 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814408680
• ISBN-13: 978-0814408681
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #35 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Labor & Industrial Relations
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  #92 in	Books > Nonfiction > Politics > Globalization

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outsourcing, good or bad for America, July 20, 2005

By	J. LIttle (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Outsourcing America is a book worth reading. Hopefully our policy makers and corporate leaders will read it as well. This book makes us think about the complex issues related to off shoring. It certainly makes us want to know more about the longer range effects of current policy.

Outsourcing America raises important questions. Why do we have tax incentives for those who off shore? Couldn't American companies achieve the same level of cost reduction if we did a better job of implementing lean manufacturing in U.S. facilities and save jobs at the same time? Doesn't off shoring put intellectual property at risk? Are we off shoring our innovation with respect to manufacturing methods? Is off shoring a quick fix for American companies that allows them to avoid dealing with more difficult changes necessary to achieve competitive advantage in a global economy? Are we capturing all of the costs associated with off shoring?

This book presents an excellent perspective on off shoring issues. What we need now is hard data, systematically gathered and without bias, to better understand the future effect of current practice and current policy on the U.S. economy and its job markets.

With so many vested interests involved in the debate, as detailed in the book, a study, without bias, will be difficult to achieve.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Reference on Outsourcing and guest worker VISAs, May 4, 2005

By	Robert Oak - See all my reviews

If you are involved or concerned about outsourcing and use of guest worker VISAs, this book is for you. If you have no idea what the outsourcing fuss is all about, this book is for you too!

Ron Hira bursts through the myths and propaganda on outsourcing with verifiable statistics and detailed analysis. Just a few gems are the exposure of venture capitalists demanding that startups offshore outsource in order to receive funding, long term economic implications if outsourcing and use of guest worker VISAs are not addressed, "expert" studies promoting outsourcing exposed as being based on faulty data and assumptions, and the true reasons corporations are moving jobs offshore. Hira & Hira also give policy recommendations and a list of legislation introduced at the federal level.

A major highlight of this text is the use of detailed references. Every chapter lists a series of expert studies for further reading. Yet, the book is written as a fast read, without the typical academic dryness one would expert from a public policy expert.

Absolutely a must read for anyone who wants unvarnished and factual information on the state of offshore outsourcing in the United States.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very accurate portrayal of the current labor market , September 28, 2005

By	John A. Taylor - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have recently retired from a 38 year career working with people getting displaced from jobs. The Hiras description of what has been happening, especially in the last 5 years, is extremely accurate. Virtually everything I had read, heretofore, was solely on a macroeconomic basis. I kept wondering where are the studies about the people affected? Where are the analyses of all the other negative effects?

Outsourcing is not going away, but taking the overly optimistic approach used by so many simply doesn't cut it. In my observation, it only makes it worse. I have seen a very large number of people whose lives were permanently & negatively affected. The Hiras pointed out, accurately, that often retraining efforts are not successful, for a variety of reasons. But retraining coupled with a lot of preceding work with a knowledgeable employment counselor can be effective. But this is not a 'quickie' process. It does take some time. However, adequate time is not granted. I have seen training and reemployment funds steadily, often dramatically, reduced, often running out 3 - 5 months into the new fiscal year. Staffing for this type of assistance has been reduced to an absurd level.

Often, the best assistance to give to people in this situation is not retraining but just employment counseling, since the world of work as they knew it has changed so dramatically. A major reeducation process is needed as well as a serious self-assessment. A very large number of these folks had never known a day of unemployment in their lives, and felt blindsided, betrayed, angry. They had worked hard and well, were told by their employers that they were valued, played 'by the rules' (They thought. They didn't know that the game had changed, completely.), and were rewarded by getting laid off. And the way many employers dealt with these reductions only exacerbated their feelings, greatly.

I think the Hiras have managed to portray the type of problems that exist plus their scale and their ramifications. This is a problem on the same scale as the Industrial Revolution. But it is happening faster, more intensely, and is worldwide. For both political and economic reasons, it is not a problem that can be ignored or passed off as just another 'phase'.