Kerry, Bush both miss the point when visiting Valley

Kerry, Bush both miss the point when visiting Valley
EDITOR:
John Kerry's most recent visit to my hometown of Youngstown Sunday again underscored how important winning the state of Ohio is. However, both Bush and Kerry's rhetoric about why Ohio's economy is suffering just shows that both men are trying to say what they believe people want to hear. And sadly, neither man has proposed a solution that can correct the two true problems that underscore the deterioration of the manufacturing job in the Buckeye State and in the United States.
The first problem is that people flock to the Wal-Marts and Home Depots of the world without realizing what effect it has on the person working on the assembly line making the product to be purchased. If you buy a ladder made in China because its cheaper than a Werner ladder, then you have no right to complain about Werner shifting jobs out of Greenville and into the south, where wages are cheaper. Companies such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart demand price reductions from their suppliers every year. And in order for these suppliers to meet these requirements for their survival, they turn to moving jobs overseas. Further to the point, when a dollar of profit was generated at a Stambaugh-Thompson, most of it stayed in the Mahoning Valley to be redeployed. When a dollar of profit is generated for a multi-national retailer, most of it does not stay in the Valley. Bush and Kerry can talk about tax cuts and upper class wealth all they want, but the reality is that when Saturday mornings are packed at the those check-out lines, Monday morning will be crowded at the unemployment line.
The second problem is the ridiculously high cost of health care in America. The problem is so bad that experts cannot even begin to figure out where the problem stems from: malpractice suits, insurance company profiteering, and prescription drug costs all add up to a broken system. When a company looks at employee costs in the United States, the greatest burden is health care. GM is an example. While the company has made great strides in the last 10 years in operational improvements (including Lordstown), vehicle quality, union relations, and design, its health care costs are eroding its competitive stance versus foreign makers. Health care reform should be the absolute first priority of any president.
When Bush and Kerry are in Ohio pressing flesh, voters should be pressing these issues. While some tax incentives will help manufacturers, the state must focus on out-of-the-box thinking to create a stronger economy.
ERIC PLANEY
New York City
Trumbull Career Center is an asset worth supporting
EDITOR:
The Trumbull Career and Technical Center (formerly Trumbull county JVS) has existed on the same milage amount for nearly 30 years and has helped tens of thousands of students, both high school and adult, achieve dedicated career goals and employment opportunities.
TCTC is grateful not to have had to ask the voters of Trumbull County for additional property tax dollars because of appropriate state and federal funding sources. TCTC receives almost exactly 50% funding from local taxes and 50% funding from state, federal and other sources. If all schools in Ohio were funded as appropriately as TCTC, then all the additional property tax issues would not be needed.
Keep property taxes down by keeping Career and Technical Education in Trumbull County as it currently exists using the economy of scale. Vote yes on the TCTC (formerly Trumbull County JVS) renewal.
WAYNE McCLAIN
Superintendent TCTC