International -- Readers Report
How Turkey's Leaders Perpetuate Failure
Turkey's greatest economic challenge is political in nature ("Crash control," International Business, Aug. 20-27). Accountability of ruling governments, or lack thereof, has led to disastrous results. In Turkey, party leaders handpick parliamentary candidates just days prior to an election. Criteria such as accomplishments, absence of a prison record, and university degrees rarely enter in. What matters is loyalty to the party and, above all, to the party leader. The net result is that the man on the street is far removed from the thoughts of his "representative" in Ankara.
Is it any wonder that, at around $2,600, Turkey's gross national product per capita is lower today than it was 10 years ago? Or that debt as a percentage of GNP went from under 30% to 80% during the same period? Or finally, that 17 previous International Monetary Fund programs failed largely because of governmental inability to execute on plan? The reforms implemented for the current IMF program are admirable, if not a decade late. But the near- to mid-term outlook for Turkey's economy may well be decided more by what happens in Buenos Aires and/or the U.S.
Suleyman Tombul
Istanbul
Two Ways to Brighten America's Future
"Governing a nation divided" ("America's Future," Cover Story, Aug. 20-27) analyzes the gulf separating neighbor from neighbor. Yet the story overlooks a 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, which wants a kind of cultural purification.
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," 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.
Edwin P. Hart
Manahawkin, N.J.
GM Can't Afford to Forget about Quality
It was good to see that General Motors Corp. has brought Robert A. Lutz on board ("Can Lutz help steer GM out of its slide?" American News, 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 Corp.; 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.
Allan C. Strayer
Westlake Village, Calif.
The Dollar Is Badly Overvalued
"Trust the strong dollar" (Editorials, Aug. 13) 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 its value in the past four years puts it into territory seen only once before in the past quarter-century.
This is undermining American manufacturing. Even the most outstanding companies 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 over 650,000 lost job opportunities.
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 George 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
Different Messages from the Telecom Mess
The analysis in "Eight lessons from the telecom mess" (Information Technology, Aug. 13) was thought-provoking, but a few of the "lessons" require additional perspective.
First, competition is alive and well. Local companies are taking share from the Bells at a rate twice as fast as long-distance competitors achieved against AT&T after the Execunet decision. The number of contenders in BellSouth's markets has increased to nearly 300 this year. In the business marketplace, competitors serve 24% of the lines in BellSouth's region. Yet competitors have taken only about 5% of the consumer market. This is because of subsidized pricing, which has not been addressed.
While consumers and business customers share the same network, competitors focus their efforts on the more lucrative business market, which has no subsidized pricing. The issue isn't whether we need more regulation--we don't. The Telecom Act of 1996 directs the local Bells to enable local phone companies to compete, and BellSouth has spent almost $2 billion and added 3,000 employees to do that.
Second, broadband deployment in BellSouth is moving rapidly. By the end of 2001, we'll have 600,000 digital-subscriber-line customers and provide DSL access to 70% of the households in our serving area. In one year, we will have increased our DSL customer base by 180% and our customer access to DSL by 56%. BusinessWeek has provided a well-written and in-depth commentary on our industry. We welcome the debate.
F. Duane Ackerman
Chairman and CEO
BellSouth Corp.
Atlanta
Onward Marches the English Language
"The great English divide" (European Edition Cover Story, Aug. 13) overlooks an important element in English usage by young Europeans: It's the common language of popular music.
M.J. Kennerly
Salem, Ore.
|
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
