Post by RedOak on Jul 6, 2004 17:33:02 GMT -5
No US jobs = No US $
It’s a plain, simple remedy that may stop – or at least slow – the jobexporting activities of many U. S. corporations: No U. S. jobs equals no U. S. That’s the bottom line of a bill that Congressman Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and 50 other lawmakers introduced in the House in early March. It calls for U. S. corporations that seek and get federal loans, grants and loan guarantees to provide annual data on:
The number of jobs they create in the U. S. The number of jobs they create overseas. The number of jobs they abolish in the U. S. The number of jobs they abolish overseas.
The bill stipulates that any firm that either creates more jobs abroad than it does domestically, or abolishes more jobs here than abroad – or however they do it – if a firm comes out with more jobs abroad than in the U. S., then that firm would not be eligible for future federal cash until it reverses those figures.
How much is that in cold, hard money? Sanders, citing a conservative/libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, puts the total of federal loans, guarantees and grants at $87 billion. That’s $87 billion for corporations that do a heck of a lot of outsourcing. Following are some examples of federal largesse to outsourcers, courtesy of Rep. Sanders:
Motorola has laid off 42,900 U. S. workers since 2001 while getting more than $200 million from the Export-Import Bank, which finances U. S. industrial development projects overseas, and the Defense Department’s Advanced Technology Program. Meanwhile, the company invested $3.4 billion in China.
General Electric doesn’t bring good things to light when it comes to workers. It sends U. S. jobs overseas. Since 1975, the world’s largest company has eliminated more than 260,000 U. S. workers’ jobs. Many were union members, such as the ones at the profitable plant in South Philadelphia GE closed last year. In those same years, GE invested $1.5 billion in China. Oh yes, GE’s gotten $2.5 billion from the Ex-Im Bank in those years, and $100 million from two other programs.
Boeing got $18 billion from the Ex-Im Bank since 1990. It’s also laid off 135,000 workers, including many unionized aerospace workers, "while outsourcing (aircraft) design work to China, Russia and Japan," Sanders said. No wonder Seattle’s hurting.
General Motors may be heavily union, thanks to the Auto Workers. But it laid off 37,500 workers since 2001, while getting $500 million from the Ex-Im Bank and $18 million from two other agencies. At the same time, GM invested $3.5 billion to build factories in China. It said this year it will buy $6 billion in Chinese auto parts, double the amount it bought last year.
On and on the list goes of U. S. firms – union and non-union – that fire U. S. workers, outsource their work overseas and at the same time get U.S. grants, loans and loan guarantees to build new plants abroad.
Citibank exported its back office to India. So did Bank of America. Raytheon will send jobs to Mexico this year, after it got $345 million from the Ex-Im Bank. Ford, Lucent, Chrysler, United Technologies, IBM…the list isn’t endless, but it is far too lengthy. They all exported U. S. jobs, and they’re all taking U. S. taxpayer dollars to develop overseas plants. That includes factories and back offices, bluecollar and white-collar jobs. Sanders wants to stop that. "If companies do not want to let the government know how many workers they have in the U. S. and how many workers they have outside the U. S., they should not ask taxpayers of this country for corporate welfare," he said.
It’s a plain, simple remedy that may stop – or at least slow – the jobexporting activities of many U. S. corporations: No U. S. jobs equals no U. S. That’s the bottom line of a bill that Congressman Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and 50 other lawmakers introduced in the House in early March. It calls for U. S. corporations that seek and get federal loans, grants and loan guarantees to provide annual data on:
The number of jobs they create in the U. S. The number of jobs they create overseas. The number of jobs they abolish in the U. S. The number of jobs they abolish overseas.
The bill stipulates that any firm that either creates more jobs abroad than it does domestically, or abolishes more jobs here than abroad – or however they do it – if a firm comes out with more jobs abroad than in the U. S., then that firm would not be eligible for future federal cash until it reverses those figures.
How much is that in cold, hard money? Sanders, citing a conservative/libertarian think tank, the Cato Institute, puts the total of federal loans, guarantees and grants at $87 billion. That’s $87 billion for corporations that do a heck of a lot of outsourcing. Following are some examples of federal largesse to outsourcers, courtesy of Rep. Sanders:
Motorola has laid off 42,900 U. S. workers since 2001 while getting more than $200 million from the Export-Import Bank, which finances U. S. industrial development projects overseas, and the Defense Department’s Advanced Technology Program. Meanwhile, the company invested $3.4 billion in China.
General Electric doesn’t bring good things to light when it comes to workers. It sends U. S. jobs overseas. Since 1975, the world’s largest company has eliminated more than 260,000 U. S. workers’ jobs. Many were union members, such as the ones at the profitable plant in South Philadelphia GE closed last year. In those same years, GE invested $1.5 billion in China. Oh yes, GE’s gotten $2.5 billion from the Ex-Im Bank in those years, and $100 million from two other programs.
Boeing got $18 billion from the Ex-Im Bank since 1990. It’s also laid off 135,000 workers, including many unionized aerospace workers, "while outsourcing (aircraft) design work to China, Russia and Japan," Sanders said. No wonder Seattle’s hurting.
General Motors may be heavily union, thanks to the Auto Workers. But it laid off 37,500 workers since 2001, while getting $500 million from the Ex-Im Bank and $18 million from two other agencies. At the same time, GM invested $3.5 billion to build factories in China. It said this year it will buy $6 billion in Chinese auto parts, double the amount it bought last year.
On and on the list goes of U. S. firms – union and non-union – that fire U. S. workers, outsource their work overseas and at the same time get U.S. grants, loans and loan guarantees to build new plants abroad.
Citibank exported its back office to India. So did Bank of America. Raytheon will send jobs to Mexico this year, after it got $345 million from the Ex-Im Bank. Ford, Lucent, Chrysler, United Technologies, IBM…the list isn’t endless, but it is far too lengthy. They all exported U. S. jobs, and they’re all taking U. S. taxpayer dollars to develop overseas plants. That includes factories and back offices, bluecollar and white-collar jobs. Sanders wants to stop that. "If companies do not want to let the government know how many workers they have in the U. S. and how many workers they have outside the U. S., they should not ask taxpayers of this country for corporate welfare," he said.
