Democrats: To Beat Mitt Romney By Chanting The Same Word Over And Over You Must Use The Right Word

When Democratic politicians start using the word "outsource" they remind me of a boss I once had at a company that both outsourced and offshored. When this boss learned a new word, which is to say she learned how to say it but not when to use it, she would throw the word around incorrectly drawing suppressed sniggers or looks of confusion from her underlings. Later, when The Boss was gone, we would warn each other that Our Boss had learned how to say a word she didn't yet understand.


Yesterday during his appearance on the Martin Bashir Show, Democratic strategist, Julian Epstein, demonstrated that he knows when to use the word "offshore" and when to use the word "outsource". I find that encouraging. Since the journalists won't call them on it when guests incorrectly use the word "outsource" and its variants, perhaps Democratic strategists like Julian Epstein can hold a seminar for Democratic politicians and teach them that if they want to beat Mitt Romney by repeating a word over and over, they need to use the right word.


In fact, I was so encouraged to see a Democrat using the correct business term on Martin Bashir's show that I am inspired to teach my Democratic politician friends another term they should learn if they want to sound smarter and more business savvy than they are: the term is "BPO" (business process outsourcing"). It's common and it doesn't necessarily cause a net decrease in American jobs.


There is a whole industrial class of companies called BPOs. These BPOs - or business process outsourcers - do exactly what their name implies. They perform a process or a function for other companies. One such company is a huge American company called ACS which was recently acquired by  Xerox. ACS runs call centers, mail centers, data centers and performs all manner of functions for companies who, for one reason or another, don't wish to perform those processes for themselves. When a company outsources a function to ACS that function might be performed in the US or it might be performed offshore. If they perform it in the US, they employ Americans. If they perform that function or process offshore - say in India - American jobs are lost.


If the Democrats hope to beat Mitt Romney just by chanting the same word over and over they need to use the right word. When voters who work for BPOs hear Democrats calling Mitt Romney an outsourcer, they just gave these BPO employees a reason to like Mitt Romney. Millions of Americans are employed by BPOs. Right here in the Kanawha Valley hundreds of people work for TRG, a BPO that runs call centers for other companies.


But no American likes an "offshorer" - a guy who fires Americans and gives their jobs to other countries so if Democrats want to beat Romney by repeating a word over and over let that word be "offshore".


Oh, and with any luck the word "offshore" will do Romney double harm because it might remind voters about his offshore bank accounts opened with money he earned by offshoring American jobs.


For more on understanding the difference between "outsourcing" and "offshoring" see my July 15 post on the archive.
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Higginbotham At Large comments policy: If you submit a comment pseudonymously or anonymously, that comment will not be published. For those of you who use the word "outsource" when you mean "offshore", the word "pseudonymously" means under a name not your own. It doesn't matter if I recognize your pseudonym and know your identity. No Ring of Gyges for you. 

To My Fellow Democrats: Don't Say "Outsourcing" When You Should Say "Offshoring"

Democrats who keep using the word "outsourcing" when they should be using the word "offshoring" sound like the business illiterates Republicans say we are and journalists who allow the use of the word "outsourcing" when the speaker should have said "offshoring" are simply not doing their jobs.


Just in case I have readers who need to learn the difference between "outsourcing" and "offshoring", let me provide definitions and examples.


First, let's talk about that overused word "outsourcing". Outsourcing, contrary to what some Democrats apparently believe, does not always result in the loss of an American job. Outsourcing occurs when company A contracts with company B to perform a function that company A doesn't wish to perform for itself. For example, if your American company doesn't want to hire a janitor and finds that it's adequate to contract with a janitorial service to come in 3 times a week to clean the office, your company has just outsourced a job but you have not eliminated any American jobs because the janitorial service is hiring people on American soil and is paying taxes in America. If a hospital hires Filipino nurses to work in their American hospital they have outsourced but they have not offshored. Those Filipino nurses are working in America, buying American goods and services and saving the lives of Americans in American hospitals.


Now, Democrats and news media, let me introduce you to what is apparently a new word to some of you: "Offshoring". Offshoring occurs when an American company builds a research and development center in the Philippines so they can fire "expensive" American engineers and replace them with cheaper Filipino engineers. Offshoring occurs when American workers are replaced with workers who don't live or pay taxes or spend their money in America.


Within a space of one hour I heard Dick Durbin and Rahm Emanuel on Sunday morning TV shows using the word "outsourcing" when they should have said "offshoring". The TV journalists didn't correct them.


Journalists, do your jobs.


Democrats, learn a new word. Stop reinforcing  the Republican narrative that Democrats don't know anything about business.
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Higginbotham At Large will not publish submitted comments that are pseudonymous or anonymous. Clicking the "submit" button send the comment to me but your comment will not be published until I approve it. I will not approve anonymous or pseudonymous comments - even if I know who you are or you are a close friend of mine. No Ring of Gyges for you.