The Hindu Business Line : All outsourcing cannot be stopped: Kerry

IN the spirited second Presidential debate, the Democratic nominee, Senator John Kerry, has said that "all'' outsourcing cannot be stopped and that what he is really looking for is a "fair playing field''.

The Senator from Massachussetts who debated the incumbent Republican President George W. Bush in St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday night was asked by the moderator how he could talk about tax cuts to stop outsourcing when IBM documents, for instance, show that a programmer can be hired in China for $ 12 an hour while the same goes for $ 56 in this country.

"You can't stop all outsourcing...I have never promised that. I'm not going to because that would be pandering. You can't. But what you can do is create a fair playing field and that's what I'm talking about.''

In fact, the issue of outsourcing made its way into the very first question of the town hall type meeting when Senator Kerry was asked why he is being labelled "wishy-washy''.

"I have a plan to put people back to work. That's not wishy-washy. I am going to close the loopholes that actually encourage companies to go overseas. The President wants to keep them open. I think I'm right. I think he's wrong. I'm going to give you a tax cut,'' Mr Kerry said going to make the point that the President's tax cut plan which in his view favoured the wealthy was plain wrong. "That's not wishy-washy. And that's why I'm fighting for you,'' the Democratic nominee said.

During the course of the debate on domestic and economic issues, Senator Kerry was asked how the US can be competitive in the manufacturing sector given the wage scales of American workers to maintain a standard of living that they expect.

"...There are a lot ways to be competitive. And unfortunately again this administration has not seized them, embraced them...There's a tax loophole right now. If you're a company in St. Louis working, trying to make jobs here, there is actually an incentive for you to go away. You get more money, you keep more of your taxes by going abroad,'' Senator Kerry maintained.

"I'm going to shut that loophole and I'm going to give the tax benefit to the companies that stay here in America to help make them more competitive,'' Mr Kerry also continued making the point that his administration will create a manufacturing jobs credit and a new jobs credit for people to be able to help hire and be more competitive here in America.

In a more general sense Mr Kerry talked about coming to terms with the challenges of the future in such areas as education and that America has to be competitive by making sure its kids graduated from high school and college.

"China and India are graduating more graduates in technology and science than we are. We've got to create the products of the future,'' the Senator remarked.

Mr Bush replied: "He's talking about his plan to keep jobs here. You know he calls it...stop outsourcing. Robert Rubin (former Treasury Secretary) looked at his plan and said it won't work.''

The view of the President has long been that one way of keeping jobs in this country is by keeping the taxes low, with less of regulation and legal reform, a point he put across in the debate.

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