Jayce Lien

Per. 2

Dear Next President,

I am a 17 year old student who is preparing to set a course that will send me into a work force with a career. The economic troubles facing our country are taking a toll on many families in my area, and seeing this first hand, I have some observations I would like to bring to your attention. Today’s government figures are not in government for the right reasons. They are in it to “help America,” but they are helping the wealthy stay wealthy and the poor stay poor. With allowing companies to outsource jobs, receive tax cuts. These companies are taking good people out of the everyday jobs. When America was at an economical high, people were working in factories and building large buildings and we were a hard working, blue collar country.

In my area many families worked at a large paper mill. This was a staple of the economic income for families for almost all of Albany and Salem. The paper mill is now closed and the work has been shipped overseas. The population of Albany has drastically declined because people can not afford to stay in their homes. My friends and their families have been moving away, many parents working multiple shifts, or even multiple jobs living paycheck to paycheck. This is more than just a problem of people not having jobs it affects clear down to the family life of these people, not being able to see their kids.

Outsourcing jobs to countries with employees who will work for less is the biggest reason for the lack of jobs in America. Jobs in the U.S. are facing extreme overseas outsourcing. According to Statistics Brain, an organization that bring the problems of outsourcing to the eyes of the American people; “U.S. multinational corporations, the big brand-name companies that employ a fifth of all American workers… cut their workforces in the U.S. by 2.9 million during the 2000s while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million.” This data shows that from 2000 to 2009, one fifth of all workers in the workforce kept their jobs. This number has jumped even higher in the last seven years. Yes, the cost of work overseas is drastically cheaper than here in the U.S., but if more jobs enter the U.S., then the consumer market grows, and more funds come into the companies.

Another idea to improve the economy is for companies that outsource to face higher taxes . This, along with no tax breaks or very minimal breaks, will counterbalance a cheaper made product in another country,. The larger the company, the more taxes it should pay I am aware this plan is already in place but it needs to be a greater deal to companies until they have no choice but to bring jobs back into America, pay a higher labor cost, but receive tax benefits if they do.

The only way to improve the economy is to bring back jobs to America. Yes many jobs have turned into a mechanical enterprise and become technologically advanced, but that is another reason to bring more jobs back to America. The people who have been kicked out of their jobs need to be given more opportunity. America is the land of opportunity is it not? When jobs come back, more consumers enter the stores, and more product will be made. Is limiting the consumer market something America can afford? We, the lower to middle class people of America, need you to take charge and create the opportunity we need here in America before the government creates more jobs for other countries.

Sources Used:

By Alex Lach | Monday, July 9, 2012. "5 Facts About Overseas Outsourcing." Name. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.