It was June, 1996. My oldest daughter was turning a year old, and my wife and I were making preparations for her upcoming birthday. As we began talking about all the things we would need to do, from a major household cleanup, to ordering decorations, a cake, and a few inexpensive games, we realized this could be a costly expense, all for a party she would not remember past potty training.

I had a decent job at the time, and decided to give a call to Chuck E. Cheese's, about 20 miles away. I asked about their birthday packages, and was surprised to find that, for $100, we could have a nice party, everyone would walk away stuffed, and the kids could play on the toys to their heart's content. Best of all, my wife and I could actually ENJOY the party, instead of having to play the dutiful hosts, and run around trying to make sure everyone else was comfortable. I think we actually SAVED money over what the party would have cost otherwise.

Nowadays, "outsourcing" isa bad word, because so many people fear it is sending their jobs elsewhere. But outsourcing simply creates a REASSIAGNMENT of labor: where some jobs are exported, some are imported in return. When a business is operating in two countries, there need to be people who can help insure a smooth and efficient operation. Best of all, executives with the company can concentrate on their work as executives, knowing someone else is doing the "dirty work".

Now I'll be the first to admit that there are many poverty pockets in America that could provide some of this labor. But the fault does not lie in the businesses, but in the government officials of those poverty pockets, who could and should do a better job of promoting what their area has to offer these businesses. Executives concern themselves with the bottom line, and, I assure you that if these places could show the executives how relocating to their communities would benefit the company's bottom line, there are many CEO's that would jump at the opportunity.