Outsourcing: A Windfall for U.S. IT Pros?

No topic has ignited the ire of U.S. IT workers (both employed and unemployed) than workforce issues like H-1B visa hires and outsourcing overall.

For all of you who think outsourcing is the American Enemy No. 1, well, buckle up.

Bob Evans at InformationWeek's Global CIO blog has the goods on a new study from economists at Harvard and Berkeley. Their study finds that when U.S. businesses go global--and consequently become more successful and competitive, they actually end up hiring American workers at higher salaries.

The U.S. boasts higher corporate tax rates than any nation except Japan. And our tax code makes it attractive to U.S. businesses to invest overseas, since they'll end up paying taxes at the lower rates of their new operation's home country. So they use that tax break to gain advantages in overseas markets--a no-brainer since, as we all know, we live in a global economy.

As the American Enterprise Institute's Kevin Hassett summarizes: "So when firms expand their operations abroad, taking advantage of the lower foreign tax rates, it helps their workers in the U.S. Higher sales abroad (surprise, surprise) are good for domestic workers." By "good," he means financially, according to his analysis of the study.

Read Evans' post for the whole rundown. Then let us know what you think.