Readers Report
Two Proposals to Brighten America's Future
"Governing a nation divided" ("America's Future," Cover Story, Aug. 20-27) analyzes the value divide that separates neighbor from neighbor. Yet the story overlooks another divide that, while appearing subtle, is massive. Many of us who want government to focus on quality-of-life concerns and social tolerance emphasize religious faith just as much, and perhaps more, than your second group, who want some kind of cultural purification.
It's time to realize that the Christian Right and Moral Majority have no monopoly on Christianity, nor any basis on which to claim a superior morality. I am a fiscal conservative who believes that people often do need help. They need compassion in the true meaning of the word. And to use the elder George Bush's words, the nation needs a kinder, gentler world. Indeed, I am one of those who, like Vermont Senator James M. Jeffords, was long ago driven from the Republican Party.
David G. Pritchard
Edgartown, Mass.
There is a simple solution to the "College crunch" ("America's Future," Cover Story, Aug. 20-27): Reintroduce the draft and provide a new GI Bill for education. This solves the recruitment problem and the education problem. The draft is minority- and color-blind. It could even be gender-blind.
Of course, one can always work in the daytime and get a degree attending school at night, as I did. How about a study to determine why the cost of a college education so outpaces inflation?
Edwin P. Hart
Manahawkin, N.J.
GM Must Not Overlook Quality
It was good to see that General Motors Corp. has brought Robert A. Lutz on board; his automotive expertise is legendary ("Can Lutz help steer GM out of its slide?" News: Analysis & Commentary, Aug. 20-27). What GM needs, however, goes far beyond technical and financial expertise. GM needs to be looking at who is not buying its vehicles. For many car buyers, the company's name still evokes the days of CEO Roger Smith, interchangeable engines, and other excuses for not buying. Maybe I'm a sentimentalist, but I don't want to see an old American company--one that has meant so much to so many people for nearly 100 years--dropping brands and heading toward also-ran status. Bob Lutz created the right sentiment for Chrysler; maybe he can help GM as well.
Charles Rettstatt
Doylestown, Pa.
Lutz and the other big hires will have to do more than spruce up GM's designs in order to regain market share. The new Cadillac CTS and other model changes will have very little effect unless GM buckles down to improve the quality of its products. As a longtime GM customer--for Chevys, Buicks, and Cadillacs--I have watched GM fall behind in product reliability and durability and just never quite get with it. Finally this year, I threw in the towel and reluctantly invested in a Lexus.
Allan C. Strayer
Westlake Village, Calif.
How to Count High-Tech Workers
I applaud the University of Minnesota's use of more precise criteria to measure high-tech employment ("Rust belts? Try tech belts," Science & Technology, Aug. 13). Using similar methods, I conducted a study at the University of Michigan ranking the states' high-tech workers. In it, a different picture of the so-called Rust Belt emerges. Michigan, for example, is No. 7 in the country in total high-tech employment, taking into account about 60,000 high-tech employees in the automotive industry.
After all, should a janitor at Microsoft be considered a high-tech worker? I don't think so. But should a systems analyst at General Motors, Ford, or DaimlerChrysler be counted? You betcha. I am glad that the University of Minnesota's study agrees.
Sean McAlinden
Center for Automotive Research
Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Dollar Is Badly Overvalued
"Trust the strong dollar" (Editorials, Aug. 13) totally misses the point. There is a difference between a strong dollar and an overvalued dollar--and the U.S. dollar is badly overvalued. The nearly 30% increase in the value of the dollar in the past four years puts it into territory seen only once before in the past quarter-century. This is decimating American manufacturing.
Even the most outstanding companies, such as those that have won the U.S. President's "E" Award for exporting excellence and building exports to more than half their business, are now finding their exports vanishing. Many are getting no new export orders whatsoever and are finding they can't even hold on to their domestic markets. In total, our manufactured-goods exports are off $50 billion from last year--a loss that translates into 650,000 lost jobs.
This goes beyond manufacturing. It has also placed our economy on an import binge that has generated an unsustainable current-account deficit approaching 5% of our gross domestic product. Even the International Monetary Fund points out things have gone too far. If a dollar decline cannot be managed smoothly, the kind of "chaotic crash" your editorial warns against is a real concern. The worst thing would be to have President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill simply "stand by the dollar without qualification," as BusinessWeek recommends.
Franklin J. Vargo
National Association of Manufacturers
Washington
NAFTA: Good Medicine for Everyone
United Auto Workers President Stephen Yokich's letter (Readers Report, Aug. 13), written in response to
"NAFTA's scorecard: So far, so good" (Economics, July 9), demonstrates how trade statistics can be misused. It is true that the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico in automobiles and auto parts almost doubled from 1996 to 2000, going from $5.7 billion to $10.3 billion. But U.S. exports in these categories more than doubled as well, growing from $4.9 billion to $10.1 billion in this period. Meanwhile, the value of exported motor vehicles alone more than tripled, from $868 million to $2.8 billion.
Even assuming productivity gains, these figures demonstrate that the North American Free Trade Agreement has meant more, not fewer, jobs for UAW members. Of course, it has also meant more jobs for Mexican workers, which has led to faster economic growth in Mexico and higher demand there for U.S. exports, including automobiles. The rising tide really has lifted all boats.
Thomas M.T. Niles
U.S. Council for International Business
New York
Mexico Can't Let This Chance Slip By
"Is the magic starting to fade?" (International Business, Aug. 6) comes at a time when many, both government officials and private individuals, are working to convince President Vicente Fox's government that Mexico should find its place in the world, not only for the sake of jobs but as contribution to human knowledge and advancement.
The cheap part of the maquiladora sector is fading away, and this should be viewed as an opportunity. As president of the services section of the Mexican Association of Information Technology Industries, I can tell you that GMatrix and Roberto Solis are not alone in the quest to convert Mexico into a software powerhouse. For two years, we've been working with several government branches at the federal and state levels, and we see programs already coming into place, especially from Bancomext, our export-import bank.
This is the golden opportunity to develop and expand our relatively small national software-development industry. If we can work cohesively as a country, in five years we'll be recognized as a country of choice for software development. If not, we'll lose this opportunity forever to countries like India. We'll be doomed to the wrong side of the digital divide, with no important employment in the area, no balanced market, and with nothing to say.
Rafael Bernal
Mexico City
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