Everybody knows that our jobs have been going overseas. It’s been happening since the ‘80s and for decades nobody did much to stop it. In recent years people have recognized this as a problem for the structural soundness of the American economy and have begun taking action to reverse it. Too much dependence on others can be very bad for the stability of anything. If we are sustained mostly by external forces and something were to happen where we didn’t get that sustenance, we would be in some trouble.
So why do companies go offshore in the first place? They go because they can get more bang for their buck. In an effort to keep costs down companies will try to find people that will do the job cheaper. The first few major job relocations started in the late ‘80s beginning with telephone productions and auto parts. Manufacturers argued that moving their plants offshore was the only way to compete with inexpensive, high quality products that could be imported. The only real difference is that in one option they own the plants and in the other they’re buying goods from someone else’s plants. If they own the plants they cut out the middleman and that further reduces their costs.