From Sunshine to Sunset

Obama is now president of the United States.

This election was not all about choosing the right leader for America's future. It was about ending the wrong leadership of the past. The Republican leadership, at the helm of the outgoing president George Bush, perhaps deserved to lose this election. But it does not necessarily mean the Democrats deserved to win. They have yet to prove they do.

But congratulations to Obama and the Democratic Party. They have successfully wrested the White House and established a monopoly of power in the US Senate and House of Representatives. While it can be dangerous, America needs that. There can be no divisiveness among the leaders. The United States is facing the most challenging decades ahead since the Great Depression. Bills must be passed with haste to execute the necessary reforms in foreign relations, national security and economy. There can be no grandstanding.

What would it mean to us though?

One thing that came to mind is our BPO sector. One of the Sunshine Industries. A significant fraction of the total outsourcing companies based here are US companies. This sector generates billions of dollars of revenue for the country. Second only to India, we are the premier BPO hub in Southeast Asia. The sector employs hundreds of thousands of Filipinos from Makati, Ortigas down to Cebu and farther.

I am sure everyone who reads this knows at least one person who works for an outsourcing firm. I can name ten at least. And of these persons, many perhaps are breadwinners of their families. Many have established promising career paths in an industry that was largely underestimated by most. But the reality is, they are no different from our valiant OFWs who earn dollars abroad to support their families. The only difference is the location and the currency of their pay.

All of that may change. With Obama's leadership, he hopes to "keep the jobs back home". He may push for regulation of outsourcing to other countries, cutting back the number the US companies may employ. This would translate to thousands of layoffs. Or if not, may make the prospect of bigger revenues in the future only a remote possibility, worse, just a prospect. The BPO industry contributes a sizeable fraction to our GDP. If the above scenario happens, that sizeable fraction would be lost.

The sunshine industry may be headed for a premature sunset.

Those are close friends of mine. My fear is their fear. If they lose their jobs, there may not be enough available jobs here at home. But we must be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. I am confident that Obama would consider, or risk tarnishing bilateral relations with the Philippines who is now warming up more to China.

For the meantime, i guess it wouldn't hurt to learn Chinese.


PS: He said it himself. For more information on Obama's policy on jobs creation, visit the following links.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/27bpo.htm

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Jobs.htm