It's a deal. See you when the "aspens turn" next.

I'm with the Cap'n on this one. If you want to limit the out-sourcing of jobs, then you had damned well better put the clamp on immigration and jack the bejeezus out of import tarriffs and duties--in other words, extreme isolation. Guess who suffers--all of us consumers. Outsourcing is an inevitable response to market forces.

You callin' the Ravens a pro football team??????

and, as we all know, market forces trump alles. That's why gas prices are beating our fucking asses....but why limit the amount of money oil companies can gouge us for, as long as the market will bare it?

I suppose we should go back to the good old Robber Baron days when everyone was happy and Capitalism was allowed to flower like a rose in shit. Good times, indeed.

There are some limits on the market that make sense, like say, the 40 hour work week. Sure, there ARE people out there who will work more hours for no overtime pay, but is it right to exploit them just because the market supports it? Are we really so far away from those dark days that we don't even remember that they happened?

I think we need somebody else to start a war in Europe, and that way we can save our industry, and dig ourselves out of debt at the same time. WE NEED WWIII. I think we should start some shit between France and Germany.

My dad always told me the best thing that could ever happen in the world is India vs. China...sonner rather than later, and we need to stay out of it either way.

Someone should go tell China that India is trying to buy Yellow Cake. Not Yellow Cake Uranium, just Yellow Cake. They'll take it as an insult and blow the shit out of New Delhi.

Is it right to deny them what they deem to be their best shot at a livelihood?

No one's talking about deathcamp/prison labor here. We're talking about people who are willing to work harder for less...because it's better than whatever alternatives they might have. They people making auto parts for non-union wages in Monterrey, Mexico are probably damned thankful they have those jobs. Ditto IT and telephone call center jobs in India. Not all over-seas outsourcing is exploitation.

The point on taking the tax breaks and running is valid, but the challenge is on the legislators to craft appropriate fiscal policy and laws. You can't fault anyone for taking advantage of whatever tax breaks they can.

Of course not all outsourcing is exploitation, but that can be said of any act that could be taken to an extreme. That's not much of an argument. The point is that we have work standards in this country to protect the worker. There is a LONG history of exploitation in this country when there were no legal limits on safe working conditions and fair wages. That's what I meant when I asked if we've forgotten our sordid past. Even at the turn of the 20th Century there were lots of employers who were decent, honest people. But there were enough who weren't to force Congress to enact change. That is exactly why we don't have an unchecked, free market system.

And you're right about holding our legislature accountable. Laws should be written and enforced that don't allow offshore incorporation for US based companies. But just because the door's unlocked doesn't mean it's ok to come in and steal my TV. Companies who shirk their responsibilities to their workers and their communities are still in the wrong, if in not entirely illegal. Corporations now enjoy many rights afforded to people, yet share few of their responsibilities. Don't we believe in accountability?

I recognize fully that our past is not clean. However, the remedies we effected, for the most part, have run their course and corrected what they were originally intended to correct.

Yet, because they are still on the books, they've perverted the marketplace. Because they are laws, the only way to avoid them is to leave the coountry.

I'd like to see Congress get its act together and admit, "Hey, The Railway Labor Act is an anachronism, has served its purpose, and due for repeal." Won't ever happen. Hence, our modern industries will continue to be shackled by obsolete law.