According to John Kerry, the president supports the “outsourcing” of American jobs overseas. Kerry says he has a plan to stop this. Mostly, more regulation.

“Outsourcing” may be a dirty word for Kerry and newsman Lou Dobbs, but The New York Times notes that some of the Democrats’ biggest Silicon Valley donors still say it proudly. The man who made his fortune on Netscape, for instance, has stopped contributing. To him, Kerry is anti-business, and outsourcing is not exporting jobs, it’s importing an input. Nothing new, except that the input is labor and now laborers don’t have to teem to American shores.

Outsourcing helps some businesses weather tough times. In a fairly short long run, this helps American workers too. Businesses going under don’t help workers, that’s for sure. When a company hires out for things traditionally handled in-house, that’s “oursourcing.” It needn’t be out of country. A company will outsource even around the corner, if it sees an advantage. But this is not an economics lecture. I simply want you to support one very important type of outsourcing.

In state legislatures around the country, and in Washington, DC, our representatives often prove themselves grossly inefficient in deciding some issues. When that happens, outsource the decision-making process, outsource your legislature. Use the initiative. Let the voters decide. It’s not un-American. Lou Dobbs shouldn’t fly into a tizzy. It’s good sense for tough times. In a fairly short long run, voters will be better off.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.