OUTSOURCING: THE EXPLOITATION OF CAPITALISM AND ITS’ IMPACT ON THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY

The United States is a nation that was built upon and flourished due to industry. The Industrialization of the United States made it one if not the most powerful and prosperous nation of the 20th century. However, over the past 30 years the U.S. industrial market has been in a consistent decline. World events and technological advancements have combined to drastically change the course of how business is done in the US; thus affecting the global economy for better or worse depending on one’s perspective. Over this time period, it is estimated that the U.S. has lost over 3.3 million jobs due to the advent of Global Outsourcing (Kletzer, 2005). This trend has changed the way companies address human capital needs and compensate staff members permanently and the affects have been revealing themselves in many ways throughout the US economy and world as a whole.
Outsourcing in its’ purest form refers to the practice of turning over noncritical/unskilled labor or automated tasks of a business to companies who either specialize in that activity or are adequately able to perform the activity for far less than the current costs. It has now grown into a billion dollar industry in and of itself. Outsourcing has grown to include any and every action, function, or responsibility associated with business, intellectual or otherwise. The act of outsourcing however is not a new concept. Capitalists have been seeking ways to increase profits since the advent of industrialization and achieve their main objective: maximizing earnings with limited output. Several strategies have been used throughout the years such as using immigrant workers (day laborers), cheaper materials, massive layoffs, and changing production strategies to name a few. For example, several General Contracting