I've been fighting the urge to comment on this all week, but alas, I'm going to give in.
Kanjorski's ire...local financial services company job outsourcing
The story appeared in the July 13th edition of the Scranton Times.
What's my take? Well it's hard not to view the Congressman's comments as being much more than the sort of posturing one would expect from a politician facing a tough re-election campaign. Of course I could be wrong, and if I am it will be clear as day for all to see, as the Congressman will be successful in doing something to stem the tide of the outsourcing. I doubt it though. Why? Well while Congressman Kanjorski enjoys the benefit of simply reacting to something he hears, the business referenced has no doubt been planning this action for a significant amount of time. As a result, I highly doubt that the business leaders in questions are going to react by saying "well Paul Kanjorski is mad at us now, so we had better scrap these plans".
For the record, it's not as if this kind of action hasn't happened before (both at this company and others, such as Met Life), without any noticeable results stemming from the harsh words of political leaders.
On the other hand, I think any kind of reaction on the Congressman's part is better than no reaction at all. What's more, I'm thinking that Paul Kanjorski probably does have the clout to actually arrange a meeting with the executives involved, which would provide something of a voice for those being displaced. About the only thing Lou Barletta could do in this situation would be to somehow blame illegals for the outsourcing.
For me, the events of this past week don't dramatically change my view of Paul Kanjorski. Opportunist? Yes. In the pocket of the Financial Services industry? Well maybe, but at least now he has the perfect opportunity to refute that charge.
Batter-up Paul: It's time to put up or shut up.
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