Hoopla over jobs reflects reduced expectations here

Hoopla over jobs reflects reduced expectations here

EDITOR:

Last week all the local news media outlets and local politicians were real joyful over mostly Mickey Mouse jobs that have been coming to the Mahoning Valley.

For example several call centers have started up in the Valley in recent years that try to sell stupid products and services to people over the phone. Now we are going to get more call services here in the Valley and one news station said that we currently have more people working at call centers in the Valley than we do at GM, Packard and YSU. What a great achievement. Rah, rah, rah.

Many of these call centers only pay you on how much you sell or you’re definitely out the door. And many times when you call people especially early in the morning or on the weekend during a football game they slam the phone on you. These call centers have a high turn over rate in personnel. I wonder how much of a tax break these companies got to come here. Plus all the major media announced seasonal jobs at shops in the mall of warehouses. These jobs last only a few months and pay minimum wage. They’re good for a college kid or a housewife that just wants to get out of the house.

The only decent jobs coming to the Valley are a supposed few hundred high tech steel mill jobs that may open up on the Youngstown-Girard border. Even after the deal was finally worked out over stupid property rights between both cities, we may not get the jobs for years. The property will be cleaned up and cleared out by Youngstown and Girard but nothing was really guaranteed for these jobs. The future of GM is somewhat shaky and Packard more or less is gone. Packard has gone from about 15,000 jobs done to about 700. Oh, how our expectations have dropped in this Valley.

GARY GERGEL

Youngstown

Missing: a sense of outrage

EDITOR:

I am amazed that there hasn’t been more outrage over the failure of the Youngstown school system. It was recently revealed that the city’s school system was the worst in the state, the lowest out of 610 districts. My question is this: why is Dr. Wendy Webb still the superintendent of this failed school system?

Dr. Webb has had ample time to turn the district around and obviously doesn’t have what it takes to do so. The blame must start at the top and work its way down. The future lives of the children of Youngstown are at stake and we don’t need excuses, we need action. We need to call for the immediate removal of the current superintendent and find a replacement who can appreciate and conquer the enormous task of turning this school district from failure to success.

Let’s quit worrying about what the outside of our school buildings look like, and start paying more attention to what’s going on inside them. Youngstown taxpayers are paying a lot of money to the school system and deserve better than the results currently being displayed.

DAVID M. BERNAT

Canfield

Why should taxpayers pay for GM and Delphi excesses?

EDITOR:

OK, we all know that the Delphi retirees are losing some benefits. We understand that General Motors and Delphi promised you cradle to grave income, health care and the good life. We understand, but they don’t seem to get it. GM and Delphi are broke, and the taxpayer owes you nothing.

Over spending and overpromising have made these companies unable to compete in the marketplace. Overindulgence has killed the golden goose. But that seems to be my fault. I and the other consumers selfishly demand quality, dependability and 10-year warranties for our investment of a year’s income in a new car.

DON JOHNSON

Liberty

$80,000 — that’s rich?

EDITOR:

“Thank you for your service,” the Veterans Affairs Department representative in Lisbon said to me right after he told me the VA would not approve my VA medical benefits. Even though I served honorably during the Vietnam war era and after spending 31‚Ñ2 years in the U.S. Army, I was told I am too successful in life to qualify for medical benefits.

It seems that in 2003 the VA administrators determined that a veteran that has a combined net worth of $80,000 in wages, savings, checking, 401K, and an IRA shouldn’t be eligible for benefits I was promised in 1968, the year I enlisted. My wife and I have worked our whole lives to build a small nest egg for our retirement. I want to stress the word small. However it seems our small nest egg is over the threshold, and I will be denied the benefits I assumed I would have upon enlistment.

Billions of dollars are spent to save the wealthy bankers. Millions of dollars to bail out auto companies. Billions of dollars given to welfare recipients that have government-paid health care. Welfare and medical care for illegal aliens. But if you’re a veteran of the U.S. military, the government is going to deny your VA benefits if you’re successful at life. “Thank you for your service” has a hollow ring.

TOM HALL

Lisbon

Partying the American way

EDITOR:

Government, elections, political memorabilia — that’s me. Over about 70 years, I have always had a great interest in our government and all those who run it — or think they do. President Pelosi, oops, I mean House Speaker Pelosi, was way out of bounds calling me and others Nazis, among other things, for exercising our rights as Americans to speak our minds.

I attended three tea parties where everyone was well behaved. I carried a cute sign, I thought — tea bags stapled to a cardboard, saying “I’m tead off with my government.”

As far as I know, I still have the right to protest in a dignified, lady-like manner. Yes, I’ve heard and seen not-so-nice pastors and women who are not so lady like, but Speaker Pelosi shouldn’t paint everyone with the same brush.

I love my country, but will speak out for that which I don’t agree with. That is my constitutional right; it is what men and woman gave their lives for.

My granddaughter is serving in the Navy this very minute for others to have the same freedoms we enjoy and hopefully and prayerfully peace among all peoples. It’s not an easy task but thanks to our brave military, they know the fight for peace is well worth risking their lives for other countries, as well as you and me. Mrs. House Speaker should rethink what she obviously thinks of tea party goers. We are not Nazis or anything close.

JOAN FARMER

Columbiana

Who dropped the call?

EDITOR:

I would like to vent a little about the Youngstown Police Department. My mother-in-law attends church at the Hungarian Presbyterian Church on Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown. On a recent Sunday afternoon she and some fellow lady church members stayed after church for a meeting. During this meeting, a man came into the church claiming that he “belonged there” when asked his purpose for being there. The ladies proceeded to tell him that church was over and he would have to come back next Sunday and gave him the times for services. He proceeded to walk around the church and became more irritated as he went.

One of the ladies having a cell phone called 911 because they were all very uncomfortable with the situation. The 911 caller said that the police would be on their way. They never came. All the ladies could do is sit in fear and wait for this man to leave, which he eventually did after several minutes of these ladies being afraid.

As soon as he left and they were sure that he wasn’t about, they all fled to their cars in fear that he may come back. Can anyone tell me why the police never came? Is it not important to them, because that is the way it seems to me. This man could have done something terrible to these ladies and no one would have known until it was far too late.

I realize with cut backs that there are fewer police to respond, but come on. We should not have to live in fear, much less be fearful in church.

BUFFY BALOGH

Austintown