It's a disgrace that a veteran of WWII has to live in fear

It's a disgrace that a veteran of WWII has to live in fear
EDITOR:
It's a national disgrace when a World War II veteran has to live in fear of his life because of street thugs who have no respect for his sacrifice or anyone else they want to prey upon.
Of course this is in reference to what happened to Walter Swita of the South Side. He got beat up in his backyard a few weeks before and then he is forced to shoot and kill an intruder.
Mr. Swita went to war as a young man to fight an enemy across the ocean. Now as a senior citizen, he has to fight an enemy that's in his own backyard. An enemy who was not even born when he fought in the WWII. He had to kill an ingrate who didn't appreciate the freedom and privileges that were afforded to him and all of us who were born after the WWII generation.
Real men don't prey on others, especially the elderly for kicks or to make a few bucks.
I want to express my appreciation to my father Frank Kenjevari, Walter Swita and all the veterans who answered their call to duty. They are real men.
BRENDA KENJEVARI
Youngstown
Chinese workers aren't the enemy of American workers
EDITOR:
We've been seeing a lot of anxious, I might say more accurately paranoid, letters and articles about China in The Vindicator. All kinds of things are dreamed up by these anxious Americans. They will force us to pay our debts, they will overwhelm us economically, they are plotting to rule the world, etc. Here are a few facts to consider:
China has a population of 1.3 billion, 20 percent of the world's population. Its market share of world GDP is 3.5 percent, thanks to recent progress. The USA has 5 percent of the world's population and its share of world GDP is 25 percent.
The earning gap between an American worker and a Chinese is 32 to 1. On a purchasing parity measure it is 9 to 1. As long as this huge gap in wages persists, arbitrage will always favor China. But there is more to this: Between 1995 and 2002 the United States lost 11 percent of its manufacturing jobs and productivity in that sector went up by 30 percent. During those same years, China lost 15 percent of its manufacturing jobs. The Chinese are losing jobs too, and they are losing them to the same thing the Americans are: Technological improvements and innovations.
The purpose of an economy should be to raise the standard of living of the people who live within that economy. The American-created globalized economy we are entering has as a goal to lower the standard of living of all workers to maximize profits for the owners of capital. This is producing the real crisis in the world. The idea that American workers should be competing against Chinese workers will not be helpful to anyone but the owners who are still operating under the concept of divide and conquer. A trade war with China may end up in a shooting war in which nuclear weapons may be used to the detriment of everybody on the planet.
Long, long ago, union people would talk of "universal brotherhood" and "workers of the world unite" and so on. These days we hear a lot of paranoid talk about "we've got to get them before they get us." That will get us nowhere. It is the old divide and conquer paradigm. As long as we see the Chinese workers as our enemies, we will let ourselves get entangled in conflicts and wars and the same old capitalists will go on making a killing off of our killing each other in trade or war. And by the way, if you are in a union, where do you think your pension funds have been invested? In the very same companies that have moved their manufacturing to China and elsewhere because your pension fund is seeking the maximum return for investment just like everybody else.
The adage, "If you can't beat them join them" still rings true. You have already joined them and don't even know it.
ROGER LAFONTAINE
Youngstown
What's sex got to do with it?
EDITOR:
How insulting and outright sexist of you to run a headline like "Trustees: Gender will not be a factor" on last Sunday's front page. If it were three male trustees would it be a problem (or possible problem) worth noting? I doubt you'd even blink an eye at three men serving as trustees.
Maybe instead of implying their gender may present a problem with their leadership abilities, you should have focused on how women are continuing to step into the political ring and celebrate the strides women are still making amidst sexist barriers that (obviously!) still exist.
RACHEL McCARTNEY
Boardman
This year, buy American
EDITOR:
This is in response to the Nov. 13 letter, "If it's made in China, let the Chinese buy it. & quot; Thank you for putting "Buy U.S.A." back into the minds of the American people.
It's so simple, but when I tell people that their response is, "you can't find anything made in the U.S.A. anymore. & quot; This is not true. Only last fall (after John Kerry lost) I realized that buying American was the only way to help each other survive. It's our last fight to bring back the pride of the American people.
I started with myself. When my little Saturn needed new tires, I found beautiful Goodyear Eagle tires proudly made in the U.S.A. Then my guys needed some new clothes. Thanks to the Web I found several sites selling American made clothing.
For those who don't feel quite comfortable shopping on the Web, locally, we need to inform store managers just what products we are interested in. Believe me, they want our business. So this Christmas, remember we have the power in our wallets. Let's all vow to buy at least one American-made product this year and feel proud doing so.
KAREN FLETCHER
Niles
Outrage over fires in which children died is misplaced
EDITOR:
In the week before Thanksgiving, six young children in Ohio (two in Leavittsburg and four in Hamilton) perished in flames which engulfed their humble dwellings in impoverished neighborhoods. In classic blame-the-victim fashion, newspaper accounts castigated their mothers for these preventable tragedies. One even called the Leavittsburg home a "flophouse."
I beg to differ. While these poor children in Ohio died because of sanctioned poverty, federal legislators in D.C. passed a $50 billion spending cut to America's poor and a multi-billion tax cut for America's rich. This is not justice for all. It is a moral outrage. If there's any flophouse in this scenario, you will not find in Ohio but rather on Capitol Hill.
The Rev. WERNER LANGE
Newton Falls