Post by unlawflcombatnt on Aug 5, 2010 14:03:04 GMT -6
from Economy in Crisis
US Taxpayer Dollars Being Used to
Subsidize Work in Sri Lanka
By Dustin Ensinger
08/05/2010
"A meager $22 million investment of taxpayer dollars is set to create 10,000 much-needed jobs in the information technology, construction and garment manufacturing industries, according to InformationWeek.
It just so happens that those jobs will be in Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka, to be exact. And those workers will likely be competing against American talent in the near future.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, through the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka, announced that it would forge four new business alliances with private Sri Lankan companies to help “conflict-affected communities return to normalcy through the creation of sustainable jobs and increased business opportunities.”
A construction alliance will establish seven training centers to provide training for roughly 5,000 Sri Lankans.
Another public-private partnership will establish a partnership with a textile manufacturing company that exports denim to U.S. clients such as Levi's, Jones New York, J.C. Penny, Tema, and Charles Voegele. That partnership is set to create nearly 2,000 jobs over a three year period.
Companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Columbia Sportswear, Next, Tesco, and Burberry will benefit from yet another garment alliance. That partnership will create nearly 1,000 jobs initially.
The most damaging partnership to the U.S. could be the proposed business process outsourcing alliance, which will train and employ 3,000 unemployed or under-employed workers who will then compete directly with Americans in the IT field.
"To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming up with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers," the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said in a statement posted Friday on its website.
Training workers who will then compete against Americans in a crucial industry will undermine a slew of bills currently being debated in Congress which would penalize companies that ship American jobs overseas. Instead of penalizing those companies, USAID is using taxpayer dollars to train the low-wage workers that will eventually displace countless Americans.
It also flies in the face of what President Barack Obama has said about the need to keep 21st Century jobs in America and protect them from being outsourced to low-wage nations.
“Right now, we have a tax code that gives incentives for companies to move offshore. Instead, we must have a tax code that rewards companies that are doing the right thing by investing in American workers and investing in research and development here in the United States,” said Obama back in 2004. “Our government has to be looking out for these people who are working hard everyday trying to make ends meet and right now we’ve got a set of policies that are not reflective of that.”"
US Taxpayer Dollars Being Used to
Subsidize Work in Sri Lanka
By Dustin Ensinger
08/05/2010
"A meager $22 million investment of taxpayer dollars is set to create 10,000 much-needed jobs in the information technology, construction and garment manufacturing industries, according to InformationWeek.
It just so happens that those jobs will be in Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka, to be exact. And those workers will likely be competing against American talent in the near future.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, through the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka, announced that it would forge four new business alliances with private Sri Lankan companies to help “conflict-affected communities return to normalcy through the creation of sustainable jobs and increased business opportunities.”
A construction alliance will establish seven training centers to provide training for roughly 5,000 Sri Lankans.
Another public-private partnership will establish a partnership with a textile manufacturing company that exports denim to U.S. clients such as Levi's, Jones New York, J.C. Penny, Tema, and Charles Voegele. That partnership is set to create nearly 2,000 jobs over a three year period.
Companies such as Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Columbia Sportswear, Next, Tesco, and Burberry will benefit from yet another garment alliance. That partnership will create nearly 1,000 jobs initially.
The most damaging partnership to the U.S. could be the proposed business process outsourcing alliance, which will train and employ 3,000 unemployed or under-employed workers who will then compete directly with Americans in the IT field.
"To help fill workforce gaps in BPO and IT, USAID is teaming up with leading BPO and IT/English language training companies to establish professional IT and English skills development training centers," the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said in a statement posted Friday on its website.
Training workers who will then compete against Americans in a crucial industry will undermine a slew of bills currently being debated in Congress which would penalize companies that ship American jobs overseas. Instead of penalizing those companies, USAID is using taxpayer dollars to train the low-wage workers that will eventually displace countless Americans.
It also flies in the face of what President Barack Obama has said about the need to keep 21st Century jobs in America and protect them from being outsourced to low-wage nations.
“Right now, we have a tax code that gives incentives for companies to move offshore. Instead, we must have a tax code that rewards companies that are doing the right thing by investing in American workers and investing in research and development here in the United States,” said Obama back in 2004. “Our government has to be looking out for these people who are working hard everyday trying to make ends meet and right now we’ve got a set of policies that are not reflective of that.”"