ABSTRACT
For as long as most of us can remember, the global economy has been a reality, as products from one country are easily shipped and sold to another. There are some obvious benefits to this situation, not the least of which are Swiss chocolate in the gas station on the corner and Asian silk in the fabric store in the mall. But if products can easily flow between borders, so, in many cases, can jobs. The “giant sucking sound” of U.S. jobs heading for foreign shores has been underway for quite some time, but only in the past ten years or so has outsourcing1 had a significant effect on white-collar professions. This has led many to rethink their position on the phenomenon, as it may no longer be a limited result of a transitioning American economy. It has also grabbed the attention of middle-class America-and when the fat part of the bell curve speaks, politicians listen. Outsourcing played a significant role in the 2004 presidential campaign, as both George W. Bush and John Kerry addressed the concerns of those Americans who are now competing for jobs with trained, capable workers able to live on a fraction of their salary. This group of Americans increasingly includes technical writers.
