Clinton Borrows "Insourcing?"

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it was an odd sensation yesterday to read that Senator Hillary Clinton had borrowed the term "insourcing" to headline a package of positive and punitive tax measures around a new "Insourcing Agenda".  We here at OFII coined the term "insourcing" in 2003 to describe companies based abroad bringing jobs INTO the U.S. such as Toyota, Nestle and Siemens.  These companies employ 5.1 million Americans; pay 34 percent higher wages; pay $18 billion in U.S. taxes and are responsible for 20% of U.S. exports.   But "U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies" was a gangly phrase and the f-word is always a negative in politics.  Hence, insourcing.   While Clinton's Insourcing Agenda is not aimed at attracting more foreign investment to the U.S., I assume its benefits would be available to Sony, Michelin and Nortel because they have substantial investment and employment in the U.S.  In my view, anything that makes the U.S. a more attractive location for investment is positive.   I have some significant heartburn about the punitive revenue raisers in the proposal though - closing loopholes is often just a euphemism for raising someone's taxes.  But, the fact that a leading Presidential candidate borrowed our term and emphasized our message that "insourcing = jobs coming into the U.S." is, in fact, very flattering.