Asian Call Center Workers Trained With US Tax Dollars 274
gManZboy writes in with a troubling story about tax dollars being used for overseas call center training. "Despite President Obama's recent call for companies to 'insource' jobs sent overseas, it turns out that the federal government itself is spending millions of dollars to train foreign students for employment in some booming career fields--including working in offshore call centers that serve U.S. businesses. The program is called JEEP, which stands for Job Enabling English Proficiency. It's available to college students in the Philippines through USAID. That's the same agency that until a couple of years ago was spending millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer money to train offshore IT workers in Sri Lanka. Congressman Tim Bishop (D-New York), told about the program on Tuesday, called it 'surprising and distressing.' Bishop recently introduced a bill that would make companies that outsource call centers ineligible for government contracts."
ESL Program? (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if USAID would be willing to sponsor a similar program up here in Canada?
We have lots of friendly college folk who need ESL training and an economic leg up -- so what better way than to operate your call centers up here?
It's as near shore as you can get and these ESL trained immigrants would do the natural, Canuck thing, and spend their USAIDed wages across the border at Costco and Wal-Mart.
Working at a call center sucks. (Score:5, Interesting)
Obama... (Score:3, Interesting)
The Obama critque is not irrelevant. The problem with this election is that the guy against him has one goal and that is to help his corporate buddies. The GOP doesn't need to spend the time or the money on a platform committee this year because choosing Mittens makes it their sole platform plank. Romney already goes on the stump and says only what his pals want him to say (not to mention different things for different crouds.) Obama is a corporatist without a doubt, but at least he thinks about the little guy 1% of the time.
Re:Better idea - reduce all government spending (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Quality Jobs (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry, but since I detect no sarcasm I have to assume you are really ignorant. You do understand that an Economy needs to be able to accommodate every level of education and desire to work in order to be an economy right?
The Political speak of the last decade or so tends not to mention how important that is. "American's don't want to work in factories" is another good line. It's great rhetoric that has been working to increase the wealth disparity gap in the US, put millions of Americans out of work, and made a select few more wealthy than they already were.
Look, I'm not going to try to teach you the fundamentals of economics and sociology. I simply don't have the time or energy to even try. I will suggest that you do some research before repeating propaganda targeting lower and middle class Americans and giving benefit to the wealthy. Spend some time reading about the economics of Rome prior to collapse. Greece is another great example and much more recent. Read some of the works by the founder of Capitalism Adam Smith, Marxx's commentary is very good as well. Both will point out the short comings and dangers of the system rather nicely.
In all societies, the majority of people are content with menial work for fair pay. There is a minority on either end. When the top owns enough to steal from everyone below them, the society is doomed. Plato's "The Republic" is an excellent reference for that aspect. And yes, the United States is a Republic and founded that way intentionally. Though it has been turning in to something completely different very quickly.
That's what USAID does, duh. (Score:5, Interesting)
The whole point of USAID since inception has been to very publicly give financial aid to allies and countries with whom we want to establish stronger ties, and to less publicly give American foreign service personnel an excuse to be in a foreign country with a bunch of cash. And that's not some Cold War stuff, either. Like, right now, American military advisors and CIA operatives act in places like Afghanistan under the auspices (and budget) of the USAID, which, ironically, stands for United States Agency for International Development. It's a major foreign policy arm of the US, and if you think the government, no matter which party is in power, is going to rush to put a leash on it just because outsourcing has some feathers ruffled, you're very much mistaken.
Re:Obama... (Score:4, Interesting)
I do hope that's sarcasm...
From a platform of eliminating income tax in favor of reliance on consumption taxes, cutting public service projects, and basing economic plans on intentional ignorance, Ron Paul's just about the perfect candidate for a stereotypical evil wealthy businessman. His approach to leadership is that the Founding Fathers had everything all figured out 250 years ago, and all those major changes like the Industrial Revolution are just bothersome little things that shouldn't concern us.
Re:Much like tax breaks for the wealthy.... (Score:4, Interesting)
That would be puerto rico, also illegally seized from Spain in the same war. But the Philippines was independent from the US since 1946. Which also means they have very strong ties with the US, having just been on the allied side in WW2.
It's a fair point to complain about the US government say training chinese or indians to some degree. Although there is a legitimate place for development aid, whatever you may call it. China and India are after all strategic competitors to the US (along with Russia, Brazil, Indonesia and the EU, even if they are only regio), but the Philippines remains very much a staunch US ally against china, a US friend (insofar as the US has any of those left in the world), and a potentially expanded market for US sales.
Re:Working at a call center sucks. (Score:2, Interesting)
There is a 3rd option.
Buy a gun. If the social contract is completely broken. I'm taking your stuff. Partially because i'm broke. Partially because i don't like people.
Yay for sociopathy!