As the president and CEO of a Milwaukee-based SAP services firm, I am in agreement to fully support and back U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to reintroduce the Buy American Improvement Act in Washington, D.C.
"Under the Buy American Act, the federal government is supposed to support American manufacturers and American workers by buying goods made in the United States, but the law is full of loopholes that give agencies broad discretion to waive the requirement," Feingold said. "The Buy American Improvement Act will strengthen American manufacturing by making it harder to waive the Buy American requirement."
Our staff is proud of our efforts to keep U.S. citizens working and providing them with a strong wage right here in America. Every day, we are helping companies choose U.S. workers with integrity and skill over cheap under-skilled firms offshore. I am proud of the work the senator is doing and proud to support him in his efforts.
OK, so with all the outsourcing and offshoring, why is it taking Washington this long to take notice of a law that has been on the books to assist the U.S. worker? Why was it fashionable to send millions of jobs to foreign countries when American companies can do the exact same work at the exact same wage as the foreign entities, even though the LAW states we need to look at U.S. companies first for purchases?
It is because of the hype. Look at the recent bombings in India. When was the last time you saw that in Milwaukee, Wis.? NEVER!
You get some high-profile media experts in a room, and they hear one side of a debate to cure all the ill’s of a company’s misfortunes, and they begin to steamroll the issue. They say outsourcing is money saved, outsourcing is job saving.
Well, let’s start there.
Outsourcing is not money saved. There are new surveys out talking about just the opposite, how there is a higher degree of cost due to outsourcing rather than buying American. You would have to deal with a culture who does not understand U.S. business practices. They are still a Third World country!
Have you been to India or China? I have. They do not have nearly the infrastructure we do. Sure, they have a few nice campuses, but you get out, and they are riddled with electrical and technology issues that we take for granted on a daily basis to run our businesses.
Their costs are as high as ours, and there is less lag in the "business side of the equation." Can you speak the language? Can you understand the computer support rep on the phone when you have an issue?
Look at buying American first. To tell me that we are sending jobs and buying products and services from companies in other lands because no one here wants the job and no one here wants to make the products is plain old stupid!
Not everyone in this country is a white-collar worker. The fabric of the U.S.A. is and was made on the backs of the strong workers and the strong companies who employee U.S. workers to do those jobs.
We support keeping jobs in the U.S.A. by building an environment for manufacturing knowledge and experience in our day-to-day jobs and by helping firms to buy American. It is the "in" thing to do.
Buy American, use American firms, grow a global economy and watch the successes around them prosper. Thank you, Sen. Feingold, for standing up for America!
Christopher Carter is president and chief executive officer of CCI, a Milwaukee-based technology company. Additional information is available at www.ccierp.com.
