Outsourcing has become a commonplace practice thanks to the growth of broadband Internet connections, improved shipping, open borders, increasing education, and the spread of English as a common language of business. It's hard to find a company that doesn't outsource at least some small part of their business. Companies that have moved jobs overseas include household names such as MCI, Verizon, Delta Airlines, Microsoft, Citigroup, Hewlett Packard, General Electric, Sprint, AT&T, and IBM. Outsourcing is not just for the private sector, however. Government agencies in forty states and Washington, DC, use foreign workers to handle their customer service needs. This can lead to job loss for many American workers and downturns in local economies. Outsourcing of U.S. jobs is not necessarily the problem, however, and other countries' hard workers are not the enemy. If the United States is to create jobs, services, and products that are so specialized, advanced, high quality, and unique that they can be supplied by no other nation, it must invest in its citizens. It is innovation, skill, and know-how that have allowed the United States to become a world leader over the past hundred years. If it hopes to stay in front of the global pack, its commitment to fostering an educated, intelligent, hard-working, and creative citizenry must not slacken, but in fact be strengthened.
