How Not to Communicate About Offshore Outsourcing

Take a note on how not to communicate about offshore outsourcing. "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore," said Carly Fiorina, chief executive for Hewlett-Packard Co. "We have to compete for jobs."

Worried about possible government reaction to the movement of U.S. technology jobs overseas, leading American computer companies are defending recent shifts in employment to Asia and elsewhere as necessary for future profits and warning policy makers against restrictions. In a report released Wednesday, the companies said government efforts to preserve American jobs through limits on overseas trade would backfire and "could lead to retaliation from our trading partners and even an all-out trade war."

I agree that we must compete for jobs. I also believe corporate executives should use their heads before making remarks like the one made by H-P's CEO. Wake up and smell the roses! If we go overboard and export too many jobs overseas, where is the personal income going to come from for American consumers to buy all those H-P computers on the store shelves? Maybe the H-P Board of Directors should remind Carly Fiorina that her job is not a God-given right either.

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