Offsourcing

I must admit, I was not surprised one bit to learn that a majority of my every-day products were made abroad;  My soap, produced in Canada.  My toothbrush, China.  My Sony speakers were produced in Japan.  Although I found that China manufactures the most, there is a large variety of countries that produce my every-day goods.  With each product, a new country. While many argue that outsourcing leads to a loss of American jobs and a declining standard of living, I argue that outsourcing is an effective way of making the world a smaller and friendlier place, allowing us to share our products beyond our borders.  

I like to call myself an international boy.  I am a student in The Center for Global Studies, I am a frequent traveler, and I have learned five languages throughout my lifetime. Thus, I am an owner of mostly imported goods.  I sleep on a bed from Indonesia, while the sheets are from the U.S.  Now, as a globalist, I like to think about outsourcing differently.  I see outsourcing as a way of taking the best products of the world to Connecticut, while paying the lowest rates.  For example, I drive a BMW made in Germany.  I could choose to buy an American made car, however I prefer German engineering and service.  Furthermore, I play a Fender guitar manufactured here in the States, as I prefer their products over other foreign options.  This guitar is shared all over the world; millions of musicians play a Fender outside of America, and it is because they prefer the quality.  

 While I know that hyperlocal is the trend, global is still what defines me.  I watch Spanish soccer because they have the best competition, I eat sushi because their food is different, and I have friends all over the world because they teach me that the world is much bigger than Norwalk, CT.  I feel the same about outsourcing. These foreign products bring together our world.  As an American citizen, I agree that outsourcing may effect our own economy and jobs.  But I am a citizen of the world beyond America, where countries should be able to share their useful goods with their neighbors.