Keep the jobs here

Keep the jobs here

EDITOR:

One thing I don’t understand about this Cash for Clunkers deal is, why wasn’t there a clause that stated that you could only put these clunkers towards cars that are produced by Ford, GM, or Chrysler? If the Japanese, Koreans, Germans, etc. want this deal, let them kick in their own money and don’t rely on the American taxpayer to do so. I thought that we are trying to bring American car companies back from the brink. Well, this is not the way to do it.

In my opinion, I think that a tariff should be slapped on every foreign car dumped in this country. If the price of a Toyota Corolla was $30,000 compared to $16,000 or $17,000 for a Chevy Cobalt or Ford Focus, I think the American car buyer would think twice about buying a foreign car. It would mean more cars being produced, which adds up to more “jobs”.

Our problems are not only in the car business; it’s in every aspect of our lives. For instance, why in the world do we let all of these foreign countries eat our lunch when it comes to trade? A couple of things we can do to get some of our jobs back are to repeal NAFTA and get out of the WTO. We have to get back to controlling our own trade and not letting some tribunal sit back and tell us what we can do and can’t do when it comes to trade. Also, American companies that move their operations overseas or to Mexico should have a huge tariff tacked on to every product they try to send back to the United States. This would halt the job losses caused by these greedy moves.

Think about the future generations, step up and write or call your Congress people about repealing NAFTA and keeping jobs in America, because apparently they don’t seem to get it when it comes to keeping jobs on our soil.

BUD McKELVEY

Hermitage, Pa.

We believe in second chances

EDITOR:

The United States of America, since the Declaration of independence, the American Revolution, and the U.S. Constitution, has promised life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to every American citizen, regardless of race, creed, color, religion or sex. This has been the case for 233 years, through two World Wars and from our first president, George Washington, to now our 44th president, Barack Obama.

As a U.S. citizen, taxpayer, and voter, I believe, like all Americans, that America is a great country because it is a country of freedom, opportunity, redemption, forgiveness and second chances, especially once you have paid your debt to society and the American people, as Congressman Jim Traficant and NFL football player Michael Vick have.

The truth is Traficant and Vick have already paid their debts to our society by spending years in prison for their criminal activities.

In a country of second chances, they should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, just like all Americans have.

WILLIE JAMES RICHARDS

Youngstown