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EXPORTING CONCERNS

Outsourcing anxiety: Free trade can also mass-produce poverty

Editor, The Times:

Collin Levey makes a simple mistake while she argues for free trade ("Crying 'wolf' over jobs won't help grandma," Times guest column, Feb. 12). She confuses positive free trade with negative free trade.

Free trade is good when it emphasizes the positive strengths of different nations. For example, if Japan is better at making cars than America, it should be rewarded with auto-manufacturing jobs. Free trade is bad when it emphasizes negative aspects of nations. For example, if people live in poverty in India, we should not reward this poverty with high-tech jobs.

The Japanese beat American auto makers because they just did a better job. Thus, the effect was to spread high quality cars around the world. On the other hand, Indians are beating American high-tech workers because they live in poverty. Thus, the effect will be to spread poverty around the world.

This is devastating. This is harmful. Free trade is wonderful when two economies are roughly equal, but between two unequal economies, it is a classic case of ideology trumping reality.

Tim Clark, Bellevue

A more perfect union

Collin Levey failed to note that non-existent or inhumane labor laws and child slavery are a major part of the reason why some Democrats and U.S. citizens feel it is wrong to outsource jobs to poor countries.

Unions and labor organization are part of what make our country great. They have helped many people, including my grandparents, have reasonable hours, breaks and minimum wage — to name only a few of the benefits.

Exploiting poor people in other countries is not something we should strive for as a country. Oversimplifying and claiming Democrats do not care about the poor in other countries is absurd.

The U.S. attempts to be a model of capitalism, but also of human rights. Where does this fit it in with Levey's values?

Stefanie Hader Robbins, Seattle

Super-downsize that

It is telling that Collin Levey considers the creation of 73,000 jobs in a month to be a positive sign; it's worth pointing out that the workforce grows by about 150,000 people per month, as our population grows, as young people age into the market, as immigrants arrive.

So a "creation" of about 70,000 jobs really means that about 80,000 people join the ranks of the unemployed. For this we're supposed to be thankful?

Maybe Levey can enlighten us as to the location of all these wonderful new jobs that will be opening up, as they say in the computer biz, "real soon now." I suspect they'll be either in Asia, or McDonald's. Or both.

Josh Hayes, Seattle

Spinning China

Workers in China earn 23-to-43 cents per hour. They cannot organize any kind of labor group to improve their working situations. China is a communist country. I think American corporations are getting rich using communist slave labor. I don't see them as "free citizens of different countries freely committing economic transactions," as Collin Levey stated.

Robert Ray, Everett

Consumer resorts

More and more, I hear people bemoan the loss of jobs to other countries. Companies are looking for cheap labor and bigger bottom lines. The United States is becoming a country of service jobs, with little else to look forward to.

There is an easy solution to this problem: Stop doing business with companies that send jobs overseas. Stop buying their products, stop using their service, and let them know why you are stopping.

When I found out that my Internet service provider's technical and customer service reps are in India, I called them and told them to cancel my service, and let them know exactly why. I then shopped around for another ISP. My first question to prospective providers was whether or not they were located 100 percent in the U.S. If no, I moved on until I found one that was.

OK, so you might not get the cheapest rate, and you might pay more for your want-to-have items, but it feels good to know that those dollars are going to keep other Americans employed.

This is not a lost cause, this is entirely up to the most important people any company has, its customers.

Julie Satko, Tacoma

Pennies for haven

The economy will not pull out of the current recession until our government does something proactive to start bringing jobs back to the U.S., instead of blaming the losses on cold weather and expecting that American know-how will bring them back.

In a global economy, nations of higher standards of living must utilize reasonable protectionistic measures to grow and maintain jobs. Otherwise, in a downward spiral, America will lose its middle class, future tax base and shoppers.

A few cents added on to a plastic toy or PC is a much better alternative than massive job losses and a closed-wallet public scared of losing their jobs.

Steve Jones, Seattle

Stocking the enemy

With the continued loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., I was wondering why no thought has been given to what will happen should we ever need to ramp up for an escalation in hostilities abroad, perhaps even an attack on our own country's sovereignty?

When we entered the world wars, we were able to quickly retool our factories to produce military planes, tanks and armaments. Now, with so many companies leaving the country and factories standing idle, just how vulnerable will we be without the ability to manufacture armaments and re-supply our troops quickly?

Our country's strength has always been in its manufacturing capabilities, and our failure to ensure a reliable source of military hardware will leave us at the mercy of allies and governments that will have control over the factories on their soil. How this could possibly be good for America?

Carol Brister, Lake Stevens

HALLOWED GROUND

Shallow minds

As a country, we are all aware of the injustice done to the Indian nations at the end of the 19th century. The Nez Perce have only honor and integrity to hold on to as a people, their land taken long ago. The developers' homes next to Old Chief Joseph's grave would show how morally inconsiderate some still are when it comes to the honor of other people ('Trophy-home proposal dishonors the Nez Perce," guest commentary, Feb. 11).

Nothing can be done about the past, but to allow the disrespect of a nation to continue would show how little some have learned.

John Mikos, Black Diamond

WHITE HOUSE GALLERY

Profiles in blood, sweat and nothing to fear

Regarding previous letters about who Sen. John Kerry resembles: Abraham Lincoln? Herman Munster? ("Log-splitting image," Feb. 6, and "John scary," Feb. 11.) Please, these are both wrong.

Compared to the man occupying the Oval Office right now, John Kerry looks like John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill all rolled into one.

Jocelyn Hudson, Shoreline

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