The Politics of Immigration vs. Outsourcing
Has anyone else noticed that with all the focus on immigration that nobody talks about outsourcing anymore? Not even Lou Dobbs.
We can argue about whether illegal aliens in the US are "doing jobs that nobody else wants to do," but in the case of outsourcing, whether its software, manufacturing, or call centers, these are jobs that not only did Americans want to do but they were, in fact, doing.
It's a very clever political shell game that the Republicans have pulled off through this immigration debate. The heat had been rising on the Republicans about the outsourcing of good paying US jobs overseas; even many on the working class and middle class right were beginning to question whether the Republicans truly represented their economic interests.
And, then along came immigration, a perfect vessel through which individual concerns about economic security could be transferred from the corporations who are shipping jobs overseas, to illegal immigrants in the US.
Do you see the beauty in that? No longer is the worker excercising his aggression over the loss of his job on the Republican-corporate structure, instead, that anger is focused upon a minority group whose illegal status greatly limits their access to media and their legal abilities to respond.
By tapping into an inherent racism, the Republicans have found a brownskinned scapegoat on which to pin all the blame for personal concerns over economic security. Brilliant.
See, because after all, it is Pedro busing tables at the Chilis that's the problem, not the complete hollowing out of US manufacturing.
We can argue about whether illegal aliens in the US are "doing jobs that nobody else wants to do," but in the case of outsourcing, whether its software, manufacturing, or call centers, these are jobs that not only did Americans want to do but they were, in fact, doing.
It's a very clever political shell game that the Republicans have pulled off through this immigration debate. The heat had been rising on the Republicans about the outsourcing of good paying US jobs overseas; even many on the working class and middle class right were beginning to question whether the Republicans truly represented their economic interests.
And, then along came immigration, a perfect vessel through which individual concerns about economic security could be transferred from the corporations who are shipping jobs overseas, to illegal immigrants in the US.
Do you see the beauty in that? No longer is the worker excercising his aggression over the loss of his job on the Republican-corporate structure, instead, that anger is focused upon a minority group whose illegal status greatly limits their access to media and their legal abilities to respond.
By tapping into an inherent racism, the Republicans have found a brownskinned scapegoat on which to pin all the blame for personal concerns over economic security. Brilliant.
See, because after all, it is Pedro busing tables at the Chilis that's the problem, not the complete hollowing out of US manufacturing.
posted by mikevotes at
1:01 PM
6 Comments:
Excellent post! We here in Michigan are still outraged about outsourcing only because we live daily with the problems of the auto industry, but you're absolutely right about the immigrant bait and switch.
What's interesting is the fact that the Republicans seldom mention that illegal immigration grew to these proportions due to lack of enforcement. As Molly Ivins said, if we jailed some of these CEOs and corporate types hiring these illegal immigrants (along with a few suburban mothers trying to get cheap gardeners) the problem would soon resolve itself. This lack of enforcement should be the focus of discussion.
By
Kathy, at 2:43 PM
Yeah, I'm thinking the second part of this post, one that I'm loathe to write because of the racial implications, is that illegal immigration took off only after the Civil Rights Movement really had made a difference.
In other words, when Blacks organized and began to excercise rights, suddenly business started finding illegals to handle the bottom rung jobs.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 2:55 PM
First, thanks for the context and confirmation about your job. I had a very brief period where little old me in a very nothing job ended up around one of the GE unit heads for a couple of weeks and it was one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life.
You know, I'm always hesitant to blame people for being fooled. There's this virtually unmentioned social science funded in the tens of billions every year designed to get people to do things against their own interests, be it drinking soda or voting for a candidate. I'm guilty of falling to some of it, but not to others. So I always feel a little awkward challenging others on how they've been marketed because I have been, too.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 5:02 PM
You're right. I suppose it's because the upper middle think they might move up. But they'll be downsized when their jobs get automated, too.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 6:17 PM
There is only one force at work here. Capitalist exploitation of working people.
By
Justin, at 7:20 AM
Yeah,
I tend to be a Marxist in analysis, but not solution. It's a good outside framework to look at the system.
And, that's what it's all about. The blood in your wallet. Profit in modern capitalism is all too often based upon exploitation of workers of resources and, in the case of pollution as example, the rights of others.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 8:32 AM
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