Report: Move Jobs Offshore Last

ByJohn S. McClenahen As they respond to shareholder needs and market pressures, American companies should first automate, innovate and diversify in the U.S. -- and move offshore only as a last resort, states a report released July 20 by the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), an economically liberal think tank. The report, authored by PPI Vice President Robert Atkinson, also urges the federal government to expand, modernize, and make permanent the R&D tax credit that expired June 30, create a National Skills Corp. to focus on "in-demand" skills development, and require companies to give at least three-months' notice to employees losing their jobs to overseas workers.