The Great Trade-Off
One of the college classes that I seemed to do well in was economics. This was ironic as it was not one of my
favorite subjects. I just seemed to have
a knack for it. Economics is, to say the
least, a very philosophical subject. The
reasons why things happen are sometimes as nebulous as a puff of smoke and just
about as substantial. However, there are
basic principles at play that, for the most part, can be as solid as the rock of
Gibraltar.
In this particular article, I want to address a subject that is not necessarily
theological in its conclusions, but I do think Christians and non-Christians
alike could benefit from the discussion.
So, dive in with me as we discuss some of the delicate and often misunderstood
principles of capitalism.
Let us discuss “off-shoring”; that is, the transition of domestic jobs to
foreign workers. I wanted to address this
topic in particular because I have recently been affected by it. In my case, my employer chose to
out-source the Information Technology sector of the business with the
understanding that the out-source provider would off-shore a determined
percentage of the work, thus reducing the overall cost of the work provided.
Now if I were a board member or top executive of a large company and found out
that I could shift 1,000 jobs from American workers at $40 per hour to, say, an
Indian National for about $12 per hour, I would flip with joy and give all my
support to the idea.
As an American worker drawing a modest salary (compared to the board member or
top executive), I am, of course, totally opposed to the idea.
It’s all a matter of perspective.
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