Bringing the Jobs Home

The book under review is: “Bringing the Jobs Home” or “How the Left Created the Outsourcing Crisis–and How We Can Fix It”. In this book the author, Todd G. Buchholz, gives a conservative economist’s views on the origin of outsourcing of jobs meant for Americans to people in other countries, and how the trend can be reversed to return jobs to Americans in the United States. His analysis of the problem of outsourcing of jobs places the origin of the phenomenon squarely at the doorsteps of liberals, who he termed “The Left”.

Todd G. Buchholz, to all intents and purposes, sees the problem of outsourcing of jobs from America to foreign countries not as a global phenomenon, deriving its origin from globalization; but as a problem contrived and sustained by American liberals and democrats, whose policies deprived American workers of their god-given rights to jobs in their own country. The critical questions one should ask are: What are the real reasons that led American corporations to consider outsourcing of jobs? In what ways can the trend be reversed?

If one objectively views Buchholz’s analysis of the origin of outsourcing problem as rather strange and ultraconservative, his recommended solutions to the problem are more than weird. In a world that is fast shrinking into one big global village, and where American cultural and economic influence have penetrated even the most remote outposts of human civilization, and in all areas of human endeavor; Todd G. Buchholz’s recipe for fixing the outsourcing crisis, are to say the least isolationist; a throwback to the era of American protectionism.

Todd G. Buchholz’s views on solving the outsourcing crisis, when placed in the context of today’s world, are like driving a car in the reverse gear on an expressway. Description and Analysis Background Information about the author The author of the book Todd G. Buchholz is an internationally known economist and financial expert. He once served as a director for economic policy to the United States president. He has also served as financial adviser to such well known investment companies as Goldman Sachs and Soros Fund.

In addition Todd G. Buchholz has managed an investment that is famous worldwide. He has written for such top of the shelf newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times among his many other publications on financial policy. Todd G. Buchholz has thrown new light onto old problems in the area of financial and economic management. One of his other well known books is: New Ideas from Dead Economics. Todd G. Buchholz is generally regarded as a well respected conservative economist.

His views on economic policy directions are well known and sought after by companies and governments. Purpose of the Book The purpose for which Todd G. Buchholz wrote this book was to highlight the problem Americans have to face by the policy of outsourcing jobs to workers overseas to the detriment of jobless Americans. Todd G. Buchholz attributes much of the problem to the policy of globalization which was initiated by previous governments of the United States controlled by the Democratic Party, which he collectively labeled “The Left”.

Some of the unfavorable conditions emanating from wrong-headed policies of “The Left” which he felt led to the crisis of outsourcing of jobs by American companies include: an education system which continues to produce graduates who do not have the necessary competence required for modern job requirements; thus forcing American companies to look elsewhere for reliable workers; a suffocating tax regime which forces companies to pay for an over bloated social security programs; pro-union laws which restricts well educated foreigners of American Universities from staying back to work in the United States; and to compound it all, an American legal system that favors plaintiffs in frivolous lawsuits and which awards unnecessarily high financial damages against companies. Todd G.

Buchholz’s solution to these problems, and which he claims will lead to reversal of direction of policy of outsourcing, is that legislation should be passed in all the problematic areas highlighted above in favor of protecting the free market tradition of the United States. Todd G. Buchholz first identified the root causes of why American companies and businesses outsource, as a combination of the negative effects of such societal forces as “nasty tax collectors, dull school bureaucrats, and sharp lawyers” which working together, force American companies to take their business overseas, where government policies and societal conditions are more favorable to free enterprise. He then gave the following recommendations: To reduce the high cost of hiring American workers, should legislate tax cuts and have less regulations on doing business in the United States. Todd G.

Buchholz also advocates stricter education standards in American schools and colleges so as to improve the quality of graduates being churned out annually. He also recommends the reduction of the lawyer population in the United States through giving disincentives to American law practice, by restricting admission and raising standards required to qualify for admission to law schools and at the Bar. Significance of the work This book written by an expert who knows his onions is significant in many respects. By joining the debate on the vexed question of outsourcing of jobs overseas by American companies Todd G. Buchholz, has given us a fresh dimension to a problem which has now assumed a crisis dimension.

American youths and older workers should not be put at such a terrible disadvantage by what has now come to be seen as wrong headed government and policies. Government of the United States needs to do more to give incentives to American companies wishing to continue business operations at home. Review of Critical Questions The two critical questions poised at the onset are: What are the real reasons that led American corporations to consider outsourcing of jobs? In what ways can the trend be reversed? From the analysis of Todd G. Buchholz’s work, it is obvious that there is a crisis of underemployment of labor in the United states due to outsourcing of jobs overseas by American companies.

Moreover, urgent steps need to be taken to reverse the trend, and to encourage American businesses to bring back outsourced jobs to the United States. Todd G. Buchholz’s work addresses these two questions. His remedies, though conservative in outlook, give us a starting point in addressing the issues raised in his book. Summary In summary, Todd G. Buchholz has given us a starting point in frontally confronting the crisis of outsourcing jobs overseas by American companies which face daunting problems of overpricing of incompetent labor at home in addition to government interference in business and labor matters. Reference Buchholz, Todd G: Bringing the Jobs Home: How the Left Created the Outsourcing Crisis–and How We Can Fix It, Sentinel HC, 2004