It pays:

Chief executives of U.S. companies that outsourced the greatest number of jobs reaped bigger pay and benefits last year, according to a new study of executive compensation being released Tuesday.

Average CEO compensation at the 50 companies outsourcing the most service jobs rose by 46 percent in 2003 from a year earlier, compared with a 9 percent increase for CEOs at 365 big companies overall, the study by the left-leaning Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy found.

Outsourcing of jobs has become a sensitive issue, and President Bush has largely avoided the subject in public appearances during the political campaign. Some of his economic advisers have said that exporting labor to low-cost countries will reduce business costs, boost companies' financial performance and thereby improve the U.S. economy.

Speaking of outsourcing, yesterday Lou Dobbs had a lively discussion on it with Congresswoman Ann Northup (R-KY) (starts about 2/3 of the way down the page. It was refreshing to see a TV host actively challenging the assertions a politician made rather than just allow her to mindlessly rattle off the standard talking points.