Closing outsourcing loophole: Schumer proposes bill to bring jobs back to America

[hrmjustin]

By Christopher Michel, Olean Times Herald

It’s a problem that’s plagued the American economy for decades, especially during the more recent — good paying jobs are moved to other countries where the cost to do business is much lower.

During the “Great Recession,” which lasted from 2008 to 2012, some 13,000 jobs from New York-based companies were outsourced to places like China or Mexico, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday. Cattaraugus County had 156 jobs from four companies move overseas during that same period, according to data posted on federal Department of Labor’s website.

Through the “Bring Jobs Home Act,” a bill Sen. Schumer helped create and is co-sponsoring, those lost jobs could be brought back to American soil.

“Under current law, U.S.-based business moving personnel from one location to another, even if that second location is overseas, can claim that cost of relocation as a business expense,” Sen. Schumer said. “They actually get a tax break when they move jobs overseas.”

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/article_de4ab362-0dfa-11e4-a358-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm

[TheBlackAdder]

1. The new term for offshoring is 'globalization.' Some move a state or two away to cut salaries.

When the salaries are raised over time, some companies will move across the state or one or two neighboring states away to cut their salaries back down to base levels again.

There was a bank in NJ, back in the 80's through 90's that would move from North Jersey to South Jersey every 6-8 years. The move was just far enough that most every employee would not commute. This way, their back offices could hire new local talent at entry levels, with minimal benefits. So, when companies move to other states to save money because of tax incentives, they're also saving on salaries by effectively canning their current employees and hiring anew. This is one way a company in a Non-RTW state can terminate their employees en mass, with cause.

One Philadelphia insurance company moved to Blue Bell, PA area. They asked certain employees to relocate, where they would pay their relocation costs. One employee wasn't asked to relocate and relocated on his own, only to find himself fired two months after purchasing a home out there. He was stranded in a low job market area, with a new mortgage and no job. That made me decide that I would never relocate for a job, since you could be left stranded in an area that you really didn't want to live in.

[hrmjustin]

2. These are just creepy business practices that are allowed.

Of course wall street won't allow it to be changed.