A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

RE "What is Wrong with Offshoring Transcription" - deenibeeni

Posted: Nov 16, 2010

I sent the moderator's very well written post on this topic (see sticky note above) to all my legislators a few weeks ago. I got this response (probably canned, but still) from Dianne Feinstein today:

Thank you for writing to me regarding H.R. 427, the "Notify Americans Before Outsourcing Personal Information Act." I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I am deeply concerned about identity theft and am strongly committed to protecting personal privacy, including Social Security numbers, sensitive personal information, and other data. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), California has the second-highest per capita rate of identity theft in the nation. More than 43,000 Californians filed identity theft complaints in 2007, and the FTC estimates that identity theft costs U.S. businesses and consumers over $50 billion annually.

On January 9, 2009, Representative Ted Poe (R-TX) introduced H.R. 427, the "Notify Americans Before Outsourcing Personal Information Act." This legislation would prohibit a business from transferring the personally identifiable information of a U.S. citizen to any foreign affiliate or subcontractor in another country without providing notice to the citizen that the information may be transferred to such an entity.

H.R. 427 has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. Although companion legislation has not been introduced in the Senate, please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind should this or any other relevant legislation come before me for consideration.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to write on matters that are of importance to you. If you should have any further comments or questions, please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

It won't go anywhere. - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
I've been watching it and hoping something would happen with it.It was introduced in January of 2009 and nothing came of it yet except it was referred to the House Committee on Financal Services. It's #71 on the calendar.

After the President's trip last week, I doubt anything will happen with this bill. It will slowly die.

It's sad when no one seems to care.

Someday the U.S. will just be a poverty-ridden colony - of some former 3rd World country. n/m

[ In Reply To ..]
.

Re: Someday the U.S. will just be a poverty-ridden colony - earlymusicus

[ In Reply To ..]
I think that day is very rapidly approaching, especially considering that President Obama seems to now be favoring offshoring of jobs. I feel betrayed by him and all our politicians who seem to worry only about the wealthy. They don't seem to know that there are millions and millions of non-wealthy people in this country. I have no hope for the future and am psyching myself up for when - WHEN - I am homeless and poor. It's no longer a case of "if". We have become the invisible population and politicians don't care about us beyond securing our vote for them. I'm tired of people saying that American workers are greedy and want too much and that they should compete with the salaries of the rest of the world - to which I always say, "Okay. YOU go work for $1.85 an hour, which is what the average Chinese factory worker makes, and try to live in America on that kind of salary. Then come back and tell me how good your life is, now that you're competing with the rest of the world, salary-wise." Chinese workers and Indian workers can live on that salary because their countries' costs of living are lower; you cannot live here on that kind of salary. It's impossible. When is this going to end? When this country collapses completely? What will the politicians do then?

Our country's economy usually benefits from the - holidays, but I wonder how many - s/m

[ In Reply To ..]
Americans (especially those in MT, or jobs like it, that have been stolen from us, and given to the Third World), are going to "contribute to the economy" (NOT!!!) like I will:

* It's been a few years since I've been able to afford to celebrate Christmas. A couple, but not all, of my siblings are in the same boat. My family decided to just bag the whole holiday rat-race. We still believe in Christmas, we still "celebrate" it in our own personal ways, but we don't contribute one thin dime to the nation's economy during that time. We simply say to ourselves, "Yep, it's Christmas!" and that's about the extent of our celebration.

* I don't contribute to the oil industry during the holidays, because I no longer join the mass migration that happens every Thanksgiving out on our highways. I can't afford the gas. I can't afford to wear out my car. I also don't have any PTO.

* I don't contribute to the supermarket's profits during the holidays, because I don't put on, nor attend, any Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners or parties. I can't afford to do it on my own, and I can't afford to even bring a contribution to the pot-luck events. Instead, I have same meal on the holidays as I have all the other days of the year: A hastily-eaten frozen burrito in front of my computer, while working.

* I don't buy Christmas gifts anymore. I haven't even set foot in a mall in something like 4 or 5 years. I've forgotten what they're like. I shop at Goodwill or the local secondhand store. When I shop at all. And it's not for gifts, it's for bare-necessity clothing or kitchen items.

* I don't contribute to the airline industry, because it's been years since I could afford to go visit anyone, and I sure as heck can't afford to fly, ever. And no one I know can afford to come visit me, either. So our potential seats on the plane will have to go empty, or to someone else. I don't contribute to the railway or bus industry, for the reasons.

* I don't contribute to the auto-repair industry, because since I can't afford to go anywhere, my car so far has not broken down. And if it does break down someday, it still probably won't get fixed.

* I don't contribute to the holiday movie or music industry. Movies are too expensive. I wait for them to come to TV. (No cable here - I still watch the old-fashioned, free, over-the-airwaves TV).

* I no longer contribute to the motel industry, the ski industry, the state and national parks, etc.

* I don't contribute to the bicycle industry. Instead, when I recently bought a bike, I got a cheap old beater off of someone on Craigslist that I met out on a street corner to purchase. (I would like to believe the bike was not hot....)

* I can't afford to contribute to the veterinary industry. My pets get fed and cared for to the best of my ability, but I can't afford fancy things like vaccinations or dental work.

* I contribute as little as possible to the gas & electricity industries, because I use those things as little as possible. Heat is expensive. Wearing mittens and an overcoat indoors is free.

* I don't contribute to the US Postal Service - I send emails and pay my bills online, instead.

* I haven't contributed to the automobile industry in 12 years, which is when I bought my current car - used, not new. I'm hoping that car will last me for the rest of my life, because it will likely have to.

So, take my situation, and multiply it by millions of people across the United States. No wonder they can't pay down the deficit or get anything done with regard to the country's infrastructure - they've basically annihilated their middle class (which would be us, of course), and with that, their largest tax base.

I would probably work for $1.85 an hour, if my rent were $5.00 a month! But things are different here in the US than they are in China. We don't eat dogs (don't even get me started on THAT one!), we don't rely on oxen as a major power-source. So, things here are a little more expensive. But because our government rewards the rich, and basically ENCOURAGES the rich to screw the rest of us, then unlike the Chinese or the Indians, we don't have a wage that reflects our country's cost of living. The U.S. has degenerated into nothing but a "Cheap-Labor Wh*re".

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