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| Hillary Clinton Stands Up For Outsourcing |
| 2004-03-05 |
| Surprise meter just hit 8.75! Former First Lady Hillary Clinton on Wednesday defended the general principles of free trade and outsourcing , while rejecting suggestions that she was allowing Indian info-tech major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to take away jobs from the state that elected her to the Senate. The New York Senator was ambushed by CNN’s Lou Dobbs on his show, a daily outlet for anti-free trade rants, snicker with questions about a TCS center she opened last year in Buffalo in upstate New York despite the company’s reputation as an ’outsourcer.’ "Of course, I know they outsource," Clinton retorted. "But they have also brought jobs and they intend to be a source of new jobs in the state." Did she get a clue, or a check from TCS? Outsourcing works both ways, she told Dobbs and his constituency of anti-free traders who tried to corner her on the issue. While not minimizing the problems of job flight, she said free trade also provided opportunities for the US to attract jobs from around the world if they got the domestic diagnosis right. The administration and the Congress needed to figure out changes in tax codes and trade laws to provide incentives for companies to keep jobs at home and create new jobs instead of blindly striking out against outsourcing. Damm, Hillary and I agree on something. I have to go outside and see if the sun has gone dark. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #9 She was all for outsourcing BJ's to an intern. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-5 9:14:52 PM |
| #8 At the risk of stating the obvious. Every economic transaction is outsourcing. Right down buying a hamburger at McDonalds. All international trade is offshore outsourcing. The most effective thing government can do to prevent offshore outsourcing is to cut taxes and other imposts. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-3-5 8:21:48 PM |
| #7 lh - Thanks, but no thanks. |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-3-5 12:42:05 PM |
| #6 yeah, shes a free trader, not a libertarian, or a conservative. Actually universal health care goes pretty well with free trade - workers who are hurt by free trade will have a stronger safety net. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-3-5 11:16:21 AM |
| #5 Bill was always into outsourcing his fundraising. |
| Posted by: B 2004-3-5 11:13:15 AM |
| #4 She does not defend outsourcing. She got caught by Dobbs for opening that TCS center. She got the center opened so she could tell folks in upstate NY, "See? Under my reign, jobs were created. No thanks to Bush." Read the speech she gave about trade (if you can stay awake). She calls for an across-the-board 10-percent tax cut for corporations production in the US, which surprised me. But she also alludes to, though doesn't outright say, she wants universal health care (still). She calls for complete broadband in the US. How that's supposed to help business, I don't know. And she calls for money to be thrown at small businesses. To teach them stuff like how to set up a web site. Anyone too stupid to set up a web site, or pay someone to do it, probably shouldn't be running a business. she praises herself for working with eBay to hook up some folks in the Adirondacks and sell their stuff online. Again, couldn't those folks have done it on their own? She talks about the Dems holding an economic summit, much like "what my husband held after his election." And she takes every opportunity to spit on the current administration. In other words, nothing really new here. |
| Posted by: growler 2004-3-5 10:58:20 AM |
| #3 Did she get a clue, or a check from TCS? I'd bet on "Check." Wish we could view her contributions transparently online. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-3-5 10:39:46 AM |
| #2 In fact the Clintons have always been solidly pro-free trade - remember "havta Nafta"? One of the disappointments of the 2004 nomination process was how every candidate EXCEPT Joe Lieberman moved away from Clintonism on free trade - John Edwards, whom I otherwise liked, was fiercely anti-NAFTA. SH - India doesnt have regulation and is a libertarian paradise? Dont think so. Theyre looking for lower wages and fringes - which theyre SUPPOSED to do - we should be creating high end jobs where we have comparitive advantage - and if some sectors of society are particularly hurt, we should provide them trade adjustment assistance. Bush's own record on free trade is mixed. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-3-5 9:58:19 AM |
| #1 When I read the title, I thought she would be pandering to business interests knowing that her base is fiercely loyal and would forgive token forays into conservatism. This sounds genuine, though. I think she is mistaken in thinking that tax code changes will work. Businesses are fleeing costs associated with regulation, litigation and compensation claims. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-3-5 9:41:43 AM |