Indian Labor

Outsourcing has become a dirty word. Since the signing of NAFTA there have been countless American jobs sent elsewhere. This may spell doom for our country or be a natural offshoot of globalization. Either way it is here to stay. The whole issue should not be a surprise as many retail products have been made in Asia for decades. What is interesting to note is the range of jobs that have been outsourced to India.

The first place that this outsourcing affects us is at the dinner table. Much of the farming in India is substantive yet not for the benefit of the local populace. Food grown there, in massive quantities, is for either of two purposes. Crops are cultivated for use as food additives, as in the case of corn, or more often for the formulation of bio-fuels. Farmers growing food for local use is rare as the cost of machinery and supplies is more than most families can afford.

As I mentioned there are many products we use that are made in Indian factories. Any place where the labor is cheap and regulation is lax becomes quite attractive to U.S. manufacturers. It is not just goods but services as well that have traveled overseas. Computer technology professionals are as skilled in India as any other developed country. Much of the computer code that is written for companies, large and small, is created by Indian workers. Let us not forget customer service positions. The calls we make to get help for any number of issues are routinely answered by those employed in overseas call centers.

These jobs that are performed by non-U.S. citizens are really no surprise. Anyone who reads a newspaper should be quite familiar with these realities of global capitalism. There are a few other jobs that have been co-opted by our Indian brethren that you may not be familiar with. It is these that concern me the most. When safety and human rights are trumped by those looking to make a quick buck, or save one, alarms should go off in the minds of thinking individuals.

Surgery, regardless for which body part, is an expensive proposition. Even those whom have insurance may spend more out-of-pocket than they can afford. Hospitals in India are more than happy therefore to offer their professional medical services at rates that severely undercut their American counterparts. In some cases the necessary surgery involves replacement of a failing organ. While waiting lists for donors grows ever longer here there are Indian citizens willing to sell their organs for a nominal fee.

What may shock and appall is the booming surrogacy business in India. Women who willingly sign up offer their bodies as incubators for infertile Americans. Couples here whom cannot conceive via natural methods can travel abroad and have their eggs implanted in willing surrogates who get paid upwards of $15,000 U.S. The women there are quarantined in dorm-like rooms for the full gestational period where they are monitored and kept healthy. They receive no visitors and are not allowed to take even one step outside.

I do not know how to feel about these issues. I understand certain fiscal realities dominate the retail landscape. Goods and services will always be offered by whatever country makes it easy and affordable for the business owner. When we talk about human beings and their bodies I get worried. Medical services do not come cheap no matter where one may reside. Placing a figurative price tag on a human body, be it for parts or for the whole, is demeaning. When we are told to value life in all its forms I do not think we are meant to take it literally.