[supercat]

Someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that income tax rates in this country play a major role in the outsourcing of services and production. The income and payroll taxes not only mean that employers have to spend more to put a certain number of dollars in their employees' pockets, but they also increase the cost of anything the employee would want to buy. If it weren't for the availability of tax shelters and outsourcing, money would be almost worthless since a very large portion of anything that got spent would get vacuumed up by the government.

Is there anything wrong in my thinking?

[phil_will1]

"it seems to me that income tax rates in this country play a major role in the outsourcing of services and production."

My sense is that our tax system is a major problem with respect to the flow of goods and is therefore significant in our lack of competitiveness internationally in the manufacturing and agricultural areas. Although that system also tends to inflate the cost of labor here, and may therefore also contribute to the outsourcing trend, I would think it isn't as significant a factor there. The biggest factor, it would seem, is that there are huge pools of educated workers who will gladly work for a fraction of what their US counterparts would require.

[RushLake]

I don't think you're wrong at all. We have a canadian democrat governor in Michigan who can't get it thru her thick head that the way to economic prosperity is not to tax, regulate, and litigate the hell out of manufacturing and business.

I think it goes further. I just retired from the domestic auto industry. Even in spite of Jacque Nasser's divide and conquer diversity initiatives, we could not find enough talented American engineers when we hired. We had to turn to engineers who came here from India and the Middleeast. Meanwhile in the USA, we have high schools that produce kids ready to become environmentalists, diversity consultants, and democratic party campaign operatives. Additionally, just from the domestic auto industry perspective, we could not, and they still cannot get those "quality" union people who are hired to come to work full time, and who receive expensive full time health care benefits to come to work everyday prepared to work. The benefits still get paid at the full time rate, and part time or sick/lame/lazy employees get put on the job in the absence of the qualified qualilty union employee. Companies owe an obligation to stock holders, and they will look for a way to make good on those obligations.

[Nataku X]

Regulations and taxes certainly don't help, BUT I doubt outsourcing would be reduced if we eliminated all regulation and taxes. Case in point: Factories are moving from Mexico to China. Why pay $10.00/hr if you can get someone do it for $100/mo?

[Nataku X]

Regulations and taxes certainly don't help, BUT I doubt outsourcing would be reduced if we eliminated all regulation and taxes. Case in point: Factories are moving from Mexico to China. Why pay $10.00/hr if you can get someone do it for $100/mo?

[A. Pole]

Someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that income tax rates in this country play a major role in the outsourcing of services and production.

You are right. Tariffs should replace income/wage/payroll tax. The original system should be restored.