Readers On Government and Jobs

Who is Saving Our Jobs in America?

One does not have to look very far until he sees or hears about yet another plant closing due to the overbearing regulations placed on business in America. Outsourcing seems to be the trend for many corporations.

The American farmer is being forced out of business due to increased government rules and regulations. While we have inspectors breathing down the necks of the America farmer, our leaders are making deals with other countries that have fewer restrictions and use dangerous and harmful pesticides to sell fruits and vegetables in our American grocery stores. Why if a local farmer would use such a pesticide, a host of governmental agencies would close the farm, yet it happens daily with imported foods for our supermarkets.

Shipping our jobs overseas is not for the good of all Americans. Corporations do this in order to save money and hire cheap labor. Our lawmakers are forcing many of our local business owners out of business with all the burdensome paperwork and cheap overseas competition.

Small businesses that lined our streets and highways are being replaced by super stores. Farms that graced our own local counties are now being torn up and dotted with new home construction. Once we fill our farmland with houses and new businesses, I wonder just who is gong to fill the shoes of the local farmer who stimulated the local economy.

I am not suggesting that we halt all new construction, but we need to take a more valued approach to the effects of the decisions that we allow our lawmakers to pass when it leads to massive numbers of our own people being forced into unemployment.

Let's ask our lawmakers to support American jobs and American goods. We are not an island to ourselves, but we surely could do a better job managing and keeping jobs in America if we did not have any loopholes for companies to slip through simply by sending their jobs overseas.

May the Lord give each of us wisdom to choose leaders from all parties who have the "Average Joe" at heart when they vote on any decisions that come before them.

Supporting the American Worker, Ron Payne

Solving Jobs through Personal Responsibility

Coming back from his luxurious, Idaho-ski resort vacation, John Kerry has hit the ground running with his campaign message of outsourcing and job loss. In a speech given at a rally in St. Louis, Kerry revealed that over the next few weeks, he will be unveiling a jobs plan, expected to produce millions of new jobs in the first year of his would be presidency.

To create these new jobs, Kerry plans to raise tax rates on middle and upper income earners -- some $900 billion according to several estimates -- to redistribute wealth through a series of public works programs. This New Deal type legislation will provide low paying, menial labor jobs, in the way of public works programs, to the masses by taking money out of the hands of employers and putting it into the pockets of government.

The key to this entire scheme seems to be the erroneous belief that government can efficiently handle the funds collected via taxes and apply them to private sector job growth. My main question for Sen. Kerry is, "When has government ever efficiently handled taxpayer funds?" This question appears irrelevant, however, because Americans will obviously flock to a candidate promising false hope for job creation in this election -- entirely removing personal accountability from the equation, altogether.

If it has been a while since you gave the Constitution a read, let me fill you in. You are guaranteed the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (or property in the words of John Locke)." Nowhere in this equation are you guaranteed a job. You have the right to seek work. You have the right to earn a wage and spend that wage, but you aren't guaranteed a job to produce that wage. The simple reality is it isn't the president's (whoever he may be) responsibility to provide you with a job. It is your responsibility to find one!

Contrary to popular belief, Americans are not born with an inherent right to a job. In fact, any job you currently have is not even "your" job, as most people aptly put it. The position you currently hold belongs to the company that employs you. If you fit the company's needs, you have a job. If not, someone else will get it. If labor is cheaper elsewhere for the same amount of product, the job will go there. It may be a cold reality, but it is the nature of capitalism.

Most Americans, however, are not upset with capitalism; they are only upset with their own job outlook. They worry that they may not be able to find the job they desire, or one with which they are happy. It is no one's fault; it is just a reality of our time. The best advice anyone can give them is to adjust their qualifications to meet the needs of the position they wish to occupy.

These qualifications can be gained through education, experience, or a variety of other methods. Instead of blaming the president for the job situation, why should not every American focus on him or herself, adjusting their qualifications to meet those of the employers who needs to hire more employees?

President Bush's tax cut package has put a few extra dollars into everyone's pockets, and, if additional tax relief is pushed through Congress and made permanent, more will soon be following. Why not, instead of spending these extra funds on trivial purchases and complaining about jobs, should Americans not try saving or spending that extra cash on a few night classes or some other experiences that will expand their individual job outlooks.

Instead of putting the blame elsewhere and complaining about their situation, individuals should take the initiative and make themselves fit what the company demands from their employees. If the tax break wasn't enough to make take these actions, look into other means of furthering oneself. From my own experience, there are literally hundreds of different government programs, regional and local scholarships that will help in funding advanced education.

The main problem is that Americans are prepared for jobs that are now non-existent. To cure our current job "crisis", we must prepare for jobs that currently exist and do not yet exist. Job woes are not a problem solved by government, although it can be a tool to aid in the process. This problem is one best solved by the American people -- through time-tested traits of will power and individual initiative.

This is our only long-term solution.

Andy Obermann

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