Does Overseas Outsourcing Hurt the U.S. Economy?

This show featured the 19th Great Debate held by Boston University's College of Communication. This year's topic was "Does Overseas Outsourcing Hurt the U.S. Economy?"

Arguing for the affirmative were Thea Lee, Chief International Economist in the Public Policy Department of the AFLl-CIO and Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. Speaking for the negative were Jerry Jasinkowski, President of the Manufacturing Institute, and Daniel Drezner, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. The moderator of the debate was Boston University Journalism Department Chairman Robert Zelnick.

Modeled after the Cambridge and Oxford University Union Societies' public discussions, the Great Debate is an annual collegial forum on current issues in communication and public affairs. Based on the tradition of audience-centered parliamentary debate, each debate involves a series of speeches alternating for and against the topic and includes audience participation, as members may comment prior to the panel's rebuttals. The audience then decides the outcome of the debate by "voting with their feet" and moving to the side of the room representing their decision.