|
|
|
 |
|
Home / Washington Business - September/October 2005 / Points of View - Priority One: Protect Local Jobs |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Points of View - Priority One: Protect Local Jobs |
|
|
|
Written On: September/October 2005 |
|
|
|
Written By: by Rep. Zack Hudgins, D-Tukwila |
|
|
|
The one theme concerning outsourcing and offshoring that emerged from our work in the Legislature is that we need more information and more discussion. After many drafts and lots of hard work, the Legislature passed a joint resolution to investigate these issues further. This may not sound like much, but it is a step forward. The resolution lays out the areas we want to discuss and creates a joint legislative task force to examine these various issues. The Legislature may not yet be able to agree on a solution, but we can agree that there is a problem and that something needs to be done about jobs leaving our state.
In the early 1990s I got off a bus in a small, dusty town in Bolivia. Before I reached the curb, a child approached me with a Snickers bar in a shiny new wrapper. Fifteen years later our global economy is more than candy bars. Take a look at where your clothes were made, where your food was grown and packaged, or where your work tools were manufactured. The labels reflect an amazing interconnected world economy in which state and national boundaries mean very little. Globalization ties us together so that we can better understand each other, decreasing the likelihood of war and making goods cheaper for consumers.
Globalization in itself isn’t really a bad thing if it is done in a responsible way. Defining responsible globalization is the tough part. We don’t have 12-year-old kids working in factories or coal mines in the United States because our priorities dictate that children should be in school. So the question comes up: Should we buy goods or services from a country that uses child labor? We have federal laws that protect our water and air from toxic chemicals. Should we buy goods and services that pollute because they are cheaper?
While our task force may touch on some of these large issues, our focus will be the impact of globalization on us here in Washington: How do we spend our tax dollars in state contracts to get the best value?
Most businesses believe that the customer is always right. Customers can take their dollars where they want to get the most value and usually consider many factors in making their choice. How close is the store? How nice are the clerks? What is the price? What is the quality? When the state signs contracts and buys services, we focus largely on price to stretch out tax dollars. But ask your local Chamber of Commerce if they think it is a good idea to spend tax dollars in your community. I’d bet it would overwhelmingly support the idea. As legislators, we find ourselves in a bind when we want the benefits of spending money locally and the ensuing multiplier effect, or finding a lower price someplace else.
The task force will focus on the state as a market participant and how to get the most bang for our buck. It won’t focus on the state as a market regulator, although the subject might come up.
I look forward to learning more about the criteria used for deciding where this work should be done, as well as how many dollars we are currently spending out of the state. I urge everyone to watch our work and offer their feedback, because the one thing that we can agree on is that we should protect our local jobs and our local businesses.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
