Bush insists outsourcing to India has its benefits
“India’s middle class is buying air-conditioners, kitchen appliances and washing machines, and a lot of them from American companies like GE and Whirlpool and Westinghouse. And that means their job base is growing here in the United States. Younger Indians are acquiring a taste for pizzas from Domino’s, Pizza Hut,” Bush said to laughs from the audience at a Washington hotel. “Today, India’s consumers associate American brands with quality and value, and this trade is creating opportunity at home.”
Yeah, when I think quality, I always think of Pizza Hut.
“It’s true that a number of Americans have lost jobs because companies have shifted operations to India. And losing a job is traumatic. It’s difficult. It puts a strain on our families,” he said. But instead of responding with “protectionist policies,” Bush said the United States needs to improve education and job training for displaced workers.
Doesn’t this sound a little ironic, given how the Bush administration has pushed protectionist policies for steel, lumber and agriculture?