Does Outsourcing Harm America

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up—Eight previously published articles from business and economic journals are reprinted in their entirety here, each with strong opinions about the value, disadvantages, and opportunities for U. S. businesses. These authors discuss how outsourcing has political ramifications that affect American workers' job security, product quality control, and hidden costs of transportation. Acknowledging that this practice is inevitable, the authors describe in a clear and readable way how businesses are challenged to grow to be more technologically advanced, efficient, and specialized. None of the articles is biased completely for or against outsourcing, but students using this book should familiarize themselves with the political slant and the prejudices of some of the journals from which selections have been reprinted, such as The New American. David M. Haugen's Outsourcing (Gale, 2009) has more clearly defined pros and cons, but the articles in Krueger's work are more provocative, with suggestions of security risks, the need to require foreign languages in our schools, the fear of Chinese takeover of our infrastructure, and the dangers of protectionism. The detailed bibliography can lead the students to articles that address these issues. One wonders, however, how recent economic events in the world might change the direction of the debate.—Peggy Fleming, Churchville-Chili High School, Churchville, NY