Loss of manufacturing jobs is costing us our country

Loss of manufacturing jobs is costing us our country

EDITOR:

When we were married in 1965 and busy setting up our household, we always made sure that the merchandise we bought was made in this country. At that time, it was very easy. Our furniture, dishes, towels, pots and pans, television, clothing, cars etc. were made in our own country. Our companies made high quality products which lasted a long time. If it was made elsewhere, we didn’t buy it. Simple as that.

Slowly over many years, everyone started to notice it was becoming much harder to find an American made product. This was especially happening at the discount stores and then even the stores at the mall started to sell all foreign made products, which cost the same high prices.

This is not a new problem. It started happening a long time ago. Cheap foreign slave labor will always be anxiously awaiting our American companies. The guy who owns the company does not care about the loss of good manufacturing jobs in the United States and he does not care about these poor foreign workers who are desperate for work and will work for any amount of money. All the company owner cares about is how many more homes he will eventually own.

Our government is at fault for allowing this to happen. It is unreal to think that all of us are going to have a professional type job. It is very important to keep those good paying manufacturing jobs in our own country. This is exactly what kept our country in great economic shape.

MARIAN BEIL

North Lima

Revolutions are tricky things

EDITOR:

I’d like to take the French Revolution analogy proposed by the writer in a letter last week further. As I’m sure we all remember, during the heady days (sorry, no more puns) of the French revolution, and after the beheading of Lois XVI and Marie Antoinette, the rightfully frustrated underclass became so intoxicated that they began to devour each other, executing anyone who could not pass the ideological purity test popular during that week. Sound familiar? It should. The tea partiers are already turning on Sarah Palin. I hope the analogy ends there, because, as we know, out of the chaos and ashes rose the tyrannical phoenix Napoleon Bonaparte, who attempted to consume the rest of Europe. To make the analogy worse, after Napoleon’s defeat, France retreated back to the monarchy.

The conservative analogy falls apart when we consider the French government today. The form of Socialist Democracy that they practice actually turns the analogy into a pretty good liberal one.

The Scott Brown election was a referendum. But it was not a judgment upon what Obama is doing, but what he is not doing. The frustrated American public, much like the French, voted for Obama because they wanted to try something different. Despite what conservatives would like you to believe, Obama’s first mistake was trying to govern from the center, not the left, and now he has nowhere to go. His second mistake was thinking that he could govern using reasoned argument instead of fear.

I think that Scott Brown will quickly discover that if he does not act in the interests of his center-left constituents, he will be looking for work in 2012. I doubt that he cares though. By then I’m sure he will be part of the Palin/Brown ticket.

MICHAEL GORMAN

McDonald

Being tough on crime works

EDITOR:

There are many causes for the crime and violence that continues to plague Mahoning County and particularly the city of Youngstown. Over the next few weeks we’ll learn more about 18-year-old Jamar Houser, recently arrested in the murder of Mrs. Fimognari at St. Dominic Church. We’ll probably learn that Houser came from poverty and a broken home. Chances are he’s an uneducated, high school drop out, unemployed, and previously involved in crime and drugs. However, there is one thing that we already know about Houser that has contributed to this tragedy, and also illustrates a significant problem with the justice system of Mahoning County. Houser should have been in the Mahoning County Jail at the time he committed this horrific crime. He had previously been arrested for the violent crime of firing a gun into a house. Houser’s initial bond was $500,000, however, that was reduced to $20,000 by Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Lou D’Apolito. It didn’t take long for Houser to post the reduced bond and be released from jail.

Several years ago Youngstown participated in a federal gun and violence reduction program (GRIP) with federal law enforcement authorities and prosecutors. This program targeted offenders arrested for carrying and using firearms. Offenders arrested for violent and gun-related crimes were aggressively prosecuted, sometimes through the federal system. Another important part of this effort was to keep these offenders in jail with high bonds. This program worked and significantly reduced crime and violence in Youngstown, and actually had an impact on lowering the murder rate.

Anyone who works in or understands the criminal justice system knows that a key to reducing crime and violence, particularly gun violence, is arresting offenders and keeping them off the streets. Repeat and violent offenders should be kept in jail on high bonds, prosecuted aggressively, and if convicted, sent to prison. Offenders on probation and parole who violate conditions of their release, or who commit new crimes, should be sent back to jail or prison. These are not novel or untested ideas. Many communities and counties in Ohio do these things very effectively. Until Mahoning County and Youngstown do the same thing, the violence and senseless killings will continue at an alarming rate.

CHUCK HILLMAN

Boardman

Words don’t define people

EDITOR:

There’s another story about the insensitive use of the word retarded in the news. As the dad of a great kid with Down Syndrome, I have experienced this verbal vomit excessively and have responded in a variety of ways, hoping to demonstrate the inappropriateness of the term. To some, I would point out the greatness of my child, and that would result in a lesson learned. As the years went on, I would frequently use politically incorrect terminology in the community or at work, in hopes of helping others to see how painful words can be. This has generally left me labeled as anti-whatever.

I guess my son is just not deserving of the same respect of other, better politically connected individuals. Sarah Palin, the ever demeaned “idiot” is absolutely correct in her assertion that this term is accepted by those who would never accept similar terms about other groups. I have decided that it is impossible to argue with the enlightened in our society who verbally disparage the population of people who have cognitive disabilities, through no fault of their own. Rather, for my own peace of mind, I am going to redefine this hurtful word, based upon my life’s experience. So here I go.

When I hear that one of our enlightened presidents closet advisors remarks that his political adversaries are “retarded,” I am going to assume he is comparing them to my son, a “retard.” If so, what a great compliment to pay. I know my son to be more perceptive than his non-disabled peers, remarkably more intelligent than those with advanced degrees, and a rare person who brings brightness to a room when he enters, not when he leaves.

My “retard” has received a life fraught with boundaries and roadblocks, but appears undeterred. He automatically qualifies for a victim ribbon, but possesses the intrinsic motivation to move forward, with or without the assistance of government programs. He has limited expectations placed upon him by a devaluing society, yet routinely surpasses the expectations of all who meet him. In short, he is all we should hope to be.

DAVE JACKSON

Youngstown