Protecting American Jobs

People who know me know that I'm a bit of a rebel. Usually I keep that side of me contained and only use it to point out the insanity and corruption in things like school board policy, evil superintendents, and ridiculous politics. We have all of those things right here in east Texas. Sometimes I go outside those bounds, like yesterday.


I get some work off a website where employers post projects and freelancers bid on them. I've made a few thousand dollars doing that over the last year, and it's been a nice source of extra income. Yesterday I received an invitation to bid on a particular project, and when I went to look at the posting, something about it just hit me wrong.


In summary, the posting read, "Web design firm based in India seeks U.S.-based freelancers to sell services to U.S. firms. Hefty pay for performance." At the time I saw the posting there were three bids already posted, two from the U.S. and one from India. I had no intention of bidding on a job that had as its goal offshoring work that should remain in the U.S., and I was amazed that two of my fellow U.S.-based freelancers had bid.


So I went to the discussion board that is typically reserved for asking questions specific to the job and I wrote, "Hi, Thanks for the invitation to bid. If I read your message correctly, you are in India and are looking for marketing professionals here in the US to market your web design services to US clients, for which you will pay "hefty" commissions, is that correct? Do you want us to include in our bid a copy of the paperwork that shows we sold our souls to the devil for the almighty buck as well? Thanks!"

Within hours my comment had been removed by the moderator and I had been strongly reprimanded by the freelance service, which reminded me that if I wasn't interested in a job I simply should not bid on it.

I did notice, however, that there has only been one other bid since my posting, so perhaps I encouraged others not to bid as well.

There's something just wrong, wrong, wrong with trying to help countries that are themselves economic powerhouses steal jobs from people in the U.S. I'm not exactly a patriot. Most days I'm not proud to be an American. In fact, I'm usually pretty embarrassed by things like American television, American sports fans, American greed, American stupidity, and American politics.

But when it comes to protecting American jobs from people who are, frankly, sucking the dollars out of our economy, I'll stand up every time.

So I may not be the most popular person on the freelance web site right now, but at least I can hold my head up high and know that I have not sold my soul to the devil for the almighty dollar.

God Bless America.