Description

Sweatshops and Outsourcing

The aspects of sweatshops and outsourcing have been a weighty theme globally, and more prevalent in the US. Some points can be pinpointed in response to the statement on the condemnation of hiring foreign workers. Outsourcing and sweatshops can be asserted to be acts of greed and evil whenever arguments are made in favor of the American workers' welfare.  American firms that hire foreigners are viewed as avarice and driven to gain from cheap labor without considering how they deny Americans chances to work. Nonetheless, the positive impacts of outsourcing cannot be assumed. Thus, hiring foreign workers can be asserted to be a two-sided phenomenon since it has some benefits to employees, American companies, and customers but also leads to exploitation and violation of some worker's human rights.

Outsourcing, which is mostly interlinked with sweatshops, has some benefits and harms. Hiring foreigners helps in reducing labor costs, and hence, increasing profit margins (Krugman). Such an impact benefits companies who outsource. It also benefits customers as they are required to pay less. Moreover, it aids immigrants who seek to secure jobs in the US. Outsourcing helps in the introduction of new skills. American firms that hire foreign workers benefit from foreigners' knowledge, which is not taught in the US. They also gain more networks to new markets and learn about foreign consumers. Conversely, outsourcing instigates exploitation of workers and violation of labor laws, as evident in sweatshops. In this case, outsourced and local workers are paid meager wages and are forced to work for unreasonable long hours in poor working environments, an aspect that is against labor laws ("Facts About Sweatshops").  Such effects affect the welfare of American workers and make them vulnerable to being exploited.

To sum up, outsourcing is both beneficial and disadvantageous. The statement that condemns the act of hiring foreigners can be accepted but to some extent. The reason for consenting it is that outsourcing denies the local Americans opportunities to secure jobs. It also motivates sweatshops, where workers are exploited, and labor laws are violated. Nevertheless, such demerits cannot be used as a basis to fully condemn outsourcing as the act attract new skills and enables companies to minimize labor costs and expand their profit margins. Reduction of production cost also helps customers as it results in low pricing of commodities.

Works Cited

"11 Facts About Sweatshops." DoSomething.org, www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-sweatshops. Accessed 7 October. 2020.

Krugman, Paul. "In Praise of Cheap Labor." Slate Magazine, slate.com/business/1997/03/in-praise-of-cheap-labor.html. Accessed 7 October. 2020.