A new evil associated with offshoring: data entry of financial AND medical records is being offshored not only to “legitimate” IT firms, but even to prisons!
Doesn’t that cause your heart to palpitate, knowing that your financial records might be available to folks who are in prison, both in this country and abroad.
Furthermore, even in “legitimate” IT environments, there is no enforcement of US privacy laws that would otherwise apply to the most sensitive information.
Last month, there was a huge flap in the Bay area when a Pakistani woman attempted extortion against UCSF Medical by threatening to expose the medical records she was data-entering unless she was paid.
So, in addition to brain drain, the elimination of the last bright spot in the US balance of trade, the export of dollars that otherwise would be taxable income, the “ripple effect” on other sectors of the economy, and the support of overseas sweat shops, we can add elimination of privacy controls to the list of the ugly results of offshoring.