Foreign steel dumping, not wages are cause of industry's difficulties

Foreign steel dumping, not wages are cause of industry's difficulties
EDITOR:
The letter to the editor of Sept. 4, which implies that American steelworkers are "whining and gnashing their teeth" over the impending loss of jobs, is a perfect example of how misinformed the public really is when it comes to current events.
The author doesn't say what his occupation is, so I assume he is an authority on the economics of the steel industry. I, on the other hand, am merely one more dispossessed steelworker who had the opportunity to spend the last 15 years of my life busting my butt, working long, hard and sometimes hazardous hours every week in order to eke out a moderate living.
Our last four contracts included concessions, not raises. When CSC Ltd. closed, we, the unscrupulous, demanding employees were making less money than we had made 10 years ago.
Just to set the record straight, I also worked at Republic Steel in the late '70s when they were having trouble, and I hate to burst the bubble of the union- bashing author, but the downfall of Republic Steel was directly related to foreign steel imports, not the greedy union members.
By the way, CSC never said the cause of their demise was attributed to high wages, but rather the rising cost of utilities and raw materials and the inability to compete in an unfair marketplace that allows cheap foreign steel to be dumped in this country.
In conclusion, General Motors' decision to stop dealing with LTV Steel was a purely economic one. It had no moral basis at all. They, like every other big business that utilizes steel, opted for the cheap imported version.
BOB HOUSEHOLDER
Salem
Spendthrift Congress is responsible for reduction in Social Security fund
EDITOR:
Today, senior citizens are expressing serious concern as to how and when Congress obtained control regarding spending of Social Security funds. Social Security funds reflect the combined tax money paid by employers and employees.
It is not tax money to be spent for any other purpose than monthly payments for eligible retirees and widows. Yet congresses through the years have taken billions of Social Security dollars to spend on many unrelated areas, such as undeclared wars and to finance all the pork barrel projects of their constituents and lobbyists.
Currently, Congress plans to cover its deficit with Social Security money by reducing entitlement benefits to those who paid into the fund all their lives.
Social Security will not go broke because of our seniors; it is the wasteful actions of our spendthrift Congress. They merely place I.O.U.s in the Social Security agency, never intending to repay any of the funds withdrawn from the troubled fund.
Now, why doesn't Congress consider appropriating federal pensions earned by federal employees -- including our Congress and all other government employees? And some of our congressmen are "double-dippers."
Actually, it is time Congress should make known where all the missing Social Security funds have been spent and why their unscrupulous actions were taken. And, most importantly, when will they repay Social Security?
VINCENT DORIA
Youngstown