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Intel Co-Founder Calls For Tax On Offshored Labor

Posted by Soulskill on from the wishful-thinking dept.

theodp writes "Intel co-founder and ex-CEO Andy Grove calls BS on the truism that moving production offshore to locations with much lower wages is a sound idea. 'Not only did we lose an untold number of jobs,' says Grove, 'we broke the chain of experience that is so important in technological evolution. As happened with batteries, abandoning today's "commodity" manufacturing can lock you out of tomorrow's emerging industry.' To rebuild its industrial commons, Grove says the US should develop a system of financial incentives, including an extra tax on the product of offshored labor. 'If the result is a trade war,' Grove advises, 'treat it like other wars — fight to win.'"

5 of 565 comments (clear)

  1. Grove is a two faced .... by AnonymousClown · · Score: 5, Informative

    When Grove was CEO of Intel, HE was the one who moved much of their R&D overseas because they were "unable to get qualified Americans."

    --
    RIP America

    July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001

    1. Re:Grove is a two faced .... by hitmark · · Score: 4, Informative

      more correctly, what was in the best interest for the shot term profits of the intel shareholders. The long term viability of intel, or for that matter, any national economy, is at best secondary.

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      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
  2. Re:How do you decide what's offshored labor? by QuantumRiff · · Score: 4, Informative

    Then they just do what haliburton did, and move their headquarters out of the US, to Dubai...

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    What are we going to do tonight Brain?
  3. Re:Is Grove running for office? by trigeek · · Score: 4, Informative

    Are you serious? Intel is one of the few companies that still fabs most of its chips in the United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon). There are also fabs in Israel and Ireland, but the bulk of the fabbing is done in the US. The packaging is done in Indonesia, China, etc, but that's not where the real money is.

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    Sometimes I doubt your committment to SparkleMotion!
  4. Re:the economic justification is actually simple by cdrguru · · Score: 3, Informative

    The problem is now and has been since the end of WW II that neither Japan nor China want anything from the US. This isn't something new. You would think that US-grown rice would have a market in Japan and China - nope, it doesn't meet their standards. It doesn't matter what the standards are, either - whatever is brought over instantly doesn't meet their "new" standard.

    For the most part, folks in the US have stopped trying because it doesn't work. There is no power that can force Japan or China to "Buy American".

    Why, with this as a given for the last 70 years or so, would anyone open up "free trade" with China? But it was viewed by some as a way to influence their policies on human rights. Yeah, sure. We can complain about their human rights record while they are burying us economically. Because we encouraged it.

    The problem on our side is that as a member of the WTO, we can't impose tariffs on imports - including importing work that takes place overseas. Doing so will not last a month until it is repealed. Remember the flap about steel imports? No, we are't getting out of this by taxing or imposing surcharges. Quite possibly the only way out will be the market for offshore workers collapsing because the companies in the US go belly-up.