More in-sourcing than out-sourcing

Here’s a nice statement of a fact that every critic of out-sourcing should be told:

While reliable figures aren’t available for the last two years, the Commerce Department estimated on March 18 that the number of Americans employed by U.S. affiliates of majority non-U.S. companies grew by 4.7 million from 1997 through 2001. In the same period, the number of non-Americans working at affiliates of majority-U.S. companies abroad rose by 2.8 million.

As an American who makes his living working for a non-American-owned company in the US, I’m one of the 4.7 million. While I can sympathize with those in Silicon Valley and elsewhere who feel they’ve been displaced from the employment rolls by the 2.8 million, attempts to “correct” this problem are only going to make things worse for them. My advice is to come on over to the in-sourcing side, where the water (and the money) is fine.