Behind Low Payroll Costs: Cheap Female Labor

''The win-win in slowing labor costs'' (Business Outlook, May 17) discusses a number of reasons why labor costs have not increased, even with unusually low unemployment. Have you considered the effect of the increasing participation of female labor in the work force? Employers are readily accepting well-educated women.

Unfortunately, most women draw less salary than their male counterparts at all income levels. And many want to, or are willing to, work part-time, which has fewer fringe benefits. Not only do women's lower labor costs bring down the average cost of labor, but male labor costs are kept down as a result of competing against cheaper female labor.

Edward A. Bryant
New York

How the House GOP Is Going to Get Whipped

Regarding ''A kinder, gentler GOP? Not if Tom DeLay can help it'' (Washington Outlook, May 17): The ex-bug-killer from Texas will be a primary reason the Republicans will lose control of the House in 2000. Even in the old days back home, the smart money was on the bugs.

Richard N. Morgan
Louisville

Top CEOs May Not Want a Point-and-Click Job Search

After 36 years in executive search, I've seen a number of fads, all purporting to change executive search. Yet nothing has changed, nor will it (''Headhunting 2000,'' Management, May 17). When clients pay retainers in the $50,000-to-$500,000 range, they want that ''touchy feely'' feeling, not touching the keyboard of some computer.

Surveys indicate that a majority of CEOs don't use computers, so it makes sense that they would retain a top-flight search consultant and not rely on a computer. The CEO wants to talk to a knowledgeable person, one who will take the time to understand his company, its culture, and most important, understand the CEO. The search consultant wants a client who understands that searches take time, that it may take two to three search assignments to understand the client company. I don't believe the Net can offer the personalized service CEOs are seeking.

Richard J. Cronin
Rosemont, Ill.

To date, the only proven benefit of the Internet in high-end recruiting is that it gives boutique firms such as ours the same research capability as the larger ones. As to whether the huge capital investment in Internet recruiting heralds a new age in executive search, that remains to be seen, along with whether Amazon.com Inc. ever earns a profit.

Stanley Herz
Somers, N.Y.

Global Warming Won't Just Cool the Economy

Global warming is not an economic problem about predicting spending patterns and being able to make seasonal adjustments to statistics (''The Farmer's Almanac and the Fed,'' News: Analysis & Commentary, May 17). Global warming is an environmental problem with the potential to change life on our planet.

The weather this past winter, ''the warmest since record-keeping began in 1985,'' as you stated, was merely the latest in an observed trend that has been accelerating over the past several decades and is projected to continue under our current ''business as usual'' scenario. Admittedly, the existence of global warming has not been conclusively proved. There is, however, a strong correlation between industrialization in the 20th century, the increase in greenhouse gases, and a rise in average temperatures. If we wait until we have irrefutable proof of global warming, it may be too late to reverse the trend and solve the problem.

This past winter's mild temperatures should not be seen as a concern for economists about economic modeling. It should be a wake-up call for all of us, citizens and politicians alike.

Thomas H. Stone
Highland Park, Ill.

The Minimum Wage Should Include Health Care

''A perfect time to raise the minimum wage'' (News: Analysis & Commentary, May 17) highlighted the utility of a modest raise in the minimum wage, but it omitted a key issue. Employee compensation is generally divided into three components: cash, retirement, and health-care insurance. Unfortunately, the minimum wage has only two: cash and retirement (Social Security). However, there is no reason for health coverage to be excluded. There is also no reason for the cash component of the minimum wage to rise for those who are currently uninsured, when they need insurance for their own sakes as well as to ease the burden for the 83% of us who have health insurance and are subsidizing the 17% who do not.

A minimum-wage increase presents a wonderful opportunity to funnel resources to the uninsured. The government should raise the minimum wage by adding a health-care component, stipulating that 25 cents or 50 cents (or even $1) of the increase must be devoted to buying some modest amount of health insurance. For example, 25 cents per hour ($500 per year) is sufficient to cover 100% of the 23 million minimum-wage employees with basic insurance to cover all primary-care needs. There is no excuse for society to continue to pretend that health insurance can be purchased on an optional basis.

Kenneth S. Abramowitz
Health-care analyst
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
New York

The Community Reinvestment Act Deserves a Fair Shake

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) does not force banks to reinvest anything anywhere. Instead, it encourages them to meet the credit needs of the entire community ("Don't hold bank reform hostage," Finance, May 10). This is true regardless of how deposits or loans may be booked.

If all taxpayers help pay for deposit insurance and other federal bank subsidies, then they should all have equal access to credit. Such economic justice grants everyone an equal opportunity for a loan approval or denial.

The CRA does not require banks to make bad loans; these are made by bad bankers. Your readers would not know this, as the only cited expert has made the repeal of the CRA his life's work. The two referenced studies that purport to show that CRA loans have above-average default rates are more than offset by more studies that show that CRA loans are similar to non-CRA loans in most ways. In fact, the bonus of low prepayment rates for CRA loans (i.e., low- and moderate-income borrowers do not refinance as much as other borrowers when rates fall) have helped make them a favorite of investors.

The CRA has been successful in encouraging first-time homeownership and small-business formations. This means the CRA's consumer protection should keep pace with any bank reform. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kenneth H. Thomas
Wharton School
Philadelphia

''Corporate America's profit surprise'' (Corporate Scoreboard, May 17)

In ''Corporate America's profit surprise'' (Corporate Scoreboard, May 17), the correct first-quarter 1999 sales for American General Corp. were $2.62 billion, a 6% increase. The correct first-quarter 1999 profit margin was 11%. For Brunswick Corp., the correct 12-month earnings per share was $1.83, making the price-earnings ratio 12.

''More on Mike Milken, then and now'' (Readers Report, May 31)

A letter in Readers Report (''More on Mike Milken, then and now,'' May 31) should have read: ''Your cover story...misstated the reasons Knowledge Universe acquired Children's Discovery Center.'' Due to an editing error, the statement was incorrectly attributed to Mike Milken.

''Heavy (equipment) hitter'' (In Business This Week, May 31)

''Heavy (equipment) hitter'' (In Business This Week, May 31) incorrectly said that Case's former parent, Tenneco, agreed to sell the company to New Holland. Case was spun off in 1994, so the decision to sell was Case's.