Harris Poll: Outsourcing Of U.S. Jobs Very Unpopular

Americans don't like it. According to a recent national survey of nearly 4000 adults by the venerable Harris Poll, the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to countries like China, India, and Mexico is very unpopular. Only 16% of Americans agree with President Bush's economic advisor's comment that it is "good for the U.S. economy" when companies use less expensive foreign workers to do work previously done in the U.S.

Reluctantly, perhaps, many people accept some of the arguments for outsourcing jobs. A 38% to 49% plurality agrees that "if companies get work done less expensively abroad, that reduces their cost, which means American consumers pay lower prices." A similar 35% to 45% plurality also agrees that "if we prevent American companies from getting work done wherever it is least expensive, that makes it harder for them to compete with foreign companies."

However, using Chinese workers to manufacture U.S. goods previously made in the U.S. was considered a bad idea by 21% to 64% of those polled by Harris.