Imports winning trade war; American workers lose jobs

Imports winning trade war; American workers lose jobs
EDITOR:
Ironic that on June 6, 2003, the anniversary of D-Day, the unemployment rate in this country rose to a nine-year high. While the president fiddles with useless wars, ill advised tax cuts and a trade policy that sends millions of jobs to countries like Mexico, China and Third World countries, our citizens, especially in this Valley, wonder what other bad news will befall them.
Who are these corporate decision makers with dollar signs for a heart, who think it's OK to ship millions of jobs overseas to manufacturer American products, turn around and ship them back to our shores and expect the people who lost their jobs to buy their products?
While we have billions to wage war and tax cuts for the rich, millions of our own people go without health care, senior citizens make life and death decisions as to whether to buy medicine or eat, and thousands of children go hungry.
In the meantime, who has the best deal in town? You don't have to look far. Line them up: city, county, state and federal workers who live off the taxpayers. Ever wonder why they do not take part in Social Security? They have a better deal, and there is little chance they will lose their pensions and health care coverage. While the powers that be are strapped for money, any mention for higher co-pays are greeted with such howls of descent you would think it is the end of the world. They ought to try paying full price for a prescription.
Those of you who are fortunate enough to still have your company benefits, stay alert. You can lose them just as it has happened to the steel, textile, shoe and just about any industry that is engaged in manufacturing.
The plain truth is, a country's wealth is judged not by what it services, but by what it makes. At the present rate of attrition, it won't be long until we will not have a manufacturing base at all.
JOSEPH CHANCE
Niles
Don't buy into Cal's viewsagainst public education
EDITOR:
Columnist Cal Thomas continues his anti-public schools propaganda in a current column in The Vindicator with myths and half-truths. He uses a report by the National Commission on Education to exploit the "rising tide of mediocrity in American schools," again using inner city schools as an example. This time [he uses] "the pathetic D.C. public schools because of the location of a heavy minority majority."
Thomas fails to inform us that Oriental students do well in the public schools that he condemns. He with his Republican ultra-conservatism and fundamentalist religion would eliminate public schools. He would replace them with segregated private schools and all sorts and conditions of religious schools fully funded with public tax dollars. The fundamentalist Thomas alleges that this would provide competition and improve the schools of all the people. How can there be competition when the private and religious schools reject the "reluctant learners" that they cannot or will not educate?
Also in The Vindicator, June 4, was an essay by Bill Maxwell. "For good schools to be successful, inner city schools must have GOOD PARENTS." Problem parents or lack of parents create problem children, which create problem schools. Funding private and all sorts of religious schools with public funds is a blueprint for disaster.
However, politicians pressured by religious hierarchy have diverted public funds, which actually violate state and federal Constitutions. Irresponsible judges add to this confusion. In every election, citizens have decisively defeated any attempt to divert public funds to nonpublic schools.
MELVIN S. FRANK
Poland