Obama & My Call Center Career...

Now that Obama won the Presidential election of the United States, what's next?

Honestly speaking, I am one of the millions of people worldwide who's rooting for Barack Hussein Obama II. And truly I was happy when it was proclaimed that he's the new President-elect of the United States.

But with Barack Obama elected as the 44th President of the United States, every Call Center agent like me is wondering if his victory will truly affect the Outsourcing Industry. Taking a tough stand against outsourcing, Obama said before that the choice is between giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas or give benefit to those corporations that keep jobs domestically. He has been very aggressive on this issue from the very beginning. Initially, he vehemently opposed the outsourcing of jobs outside US.

Truly, there have been worries that an Obama presidency will spell the slow death of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry here in the Philippines. Obama has been quite consistent on his stand that companies who outsource jobs to countries like India and the Philippines should not be given tax breaks. But it was a good thing that I was able to watch an interview with US Ambassador to the Philippines, Kristie Kenney about Obama’s stand on outsourcing. According to her, Obama didn’t really say that he wants other people to lose a job but what he just wanted is for Americans to have a job. Somehow, that statement from Ambassador Kenney relieved the fear about losing my job.

Moreover, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney gave assurances that an Obama presidency will not affect the growth of the BPO industry in the country, noting that he will be sensitive to the business relationships and alliances America has with the Philippines instead. She also added that Obama will also be concerned with the economic prosperity of strategic partners like the Philippines.

On my personal note, every country should really look at its interests and see whether it should allow certain trade practices or not. What is wrong with that? I have nothing against Obama on this one. Nobody is talking about rollback of globalization, but if it is not working for the country and its people (now, economically, am not sure that is the case), there are certain changes to be made.

Yet, it is still really too early to predict Obama's course of action. Few months down the line, things will be clear.

As for rooting for Obama, or why I wanted Obama for US President, it is certainly because he is a story of inspiration - he doesn't come from the family of politicians, he belongs to a class that suffered racial prejudice for the longest time, his dad left when he was two years old. He is self-made and he has a message of hope that resonates with most people regardless of nationality. Surely he is an image for a change.

And yes, with Obama being the 44th President of the United States, I believe that our time for change has come! Take note that I use 'our' instead of 'your' since I certainly believe that it's not just for US alone, but for the whole world as well.