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NOVEMBER 10, 2003
Thailand: Where Pay Phones Are Paying Off "The Wireless Challenge" (Special Report, Oct. 20), while comprehensive and well-written, generalizes global trends and the speed with which they will spread in many countries. In truth, telecom is a very local business. Global leaders like Orange and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. come to Thailand, but they are unable to beat local players like AIS Thailand and DTAC. Regulatory impediments can slow global trends to a crawl. For example, talks over concession conversion have rambled on for decades, with deadlines replaced by new deadlines. Given that, some segments remain protected, such as pay phones. Unlike French pay phones, Thai pay phones are not ignored. They earn an average revenue per user 13 times higher than fixed-line or cell-phone counterparts despite an equitable tariff. It is based more on the laws of supply and demand than new technological trends. To emphasize technological developments too much would encourage operators to cast financial prudence away in favor of spending on the latest network fads. Iridium's satellite phones and William H. Gates III's pet project, Teledesic, are great examples of such blunders on a global scale. Athaporn Arayasantiparb Corporate Finance Dept. Kasikornbank Public Company Bangkok Global Warming Is Cyclical, Not Man-Made Sequestering carbon-dioxide emissions may do exactly nothing to fight global warming ("Putting carbon dioxide in its place," Environment, Oct. 20). Such a plan would deserve to be controversial, and there are good reasons why "global warming is still questioned in some circles" in spite of ingenious proposals such as the described Massachusetts Institute of Technology Carbon Sequestration Initiative. Yes, we are indeed in a period of global warming: It is in fact the sixth such change from cold to warm and back to cold in the past 12,000 years alone. At the peak of the last Ice Age, some 18,000 years ago, a good part of North America and Europe was covered by glaciers, some up to 1.5 to 2 kilometers and greater in thickness. Venice was some 120 kilometers inland, away from the sea. But global warming -- or, to be more precise, "global climate change" -- is not caused by CO2, or, for that matter, by any human intervention. That claim is based on erroneous "what if" computer simulations, now retracted in such elite scientific journals as the Proceedings of the USA National Academy of Sciences for a number of years by the very originators. Global climate changes are caused by continental shifts on a multimillion-year scale, and second, by variations of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, on a million-year scale. The last 20 or so ice ages occurred in roughly 100,000-year intervals, 90,000 for the "cooling" and 10,000 for the "warming" (such as currently!). George W. Stroke Munich   Behind U.S. Business' Rush To China U.S. Multinationals, in an effort to remain competitive, have put too many eggs in the China basket when thinking about low-cost manufacturing and product assembly ("Don't blame job woes on China," Editorials, Oct. 13). Also, the U.S. Treasury is growing more dependent on the Chinese government's willingness to invest its huge trade surpluses in U.S. debt. This is resulting in an integrated Sino-American economy that, while liked by business and finance, could cost the U.S. big-time in the short to mid-term. Militarily, politically, and socially, the countries could not be further apart. Their values as nations are at different ends of the spectrum. These differences will eventually result in a clash, with the U.S. business elite suffering the economic consequences of its short-term cost-optimization strategies. There are low-cost producing alternatives where U.S. multinationals could invest -- countries that are democratic, stable, peaceful, and have long-term economic interests that are aligned with those of the U.S. While there's time, U.S. multinationals must diversify into other countries, and in the process, strengthen the economies of long-term allies that share similar values with those of the majority of Americans. Eduardo Diaz Atizapan, Mexico The point made in "Is it China's fault?" (News: The United States, Oct. 13) about China's currency being undervalued by "only" 15% to 25% rather than the "40% figure China's critics bandy about" is stunning. Even a 15% advantage is one that means a difference between winning and losing the vast majority of orders for which a manufacturer competes. It certainly influences a decision to send all work overseas or to balance a blend of sources that allows for development and quick turnaround in the U.S. (as it did for me during my 20 years managing businesses around the world for a multinational manufacturer). Most manufacturers would give up body parts to get a 15% leveling of the playing field. It wouldn't stop the migration -- and shouldn't -- but it would make the difference between a logical economic migration and a virtually total, rapid abandonment of U.S. manufacturing. Desmond J. McDonald Saegertown, Pa. China isn't responsible for America's loss of jobs or its skyrocketing trade deficit. Your article neglects, however, to name the real culprit: the American corporations that aggressively promote trade rules that allow them to pit America's middle class against the world's most poorly paid workers. Eventually, these rules force even responsible companies like Levi Strauss & Co. to outsource abroad to remain competitive. David C. Korten Bainbridge Island, Wash. Is There A Housing Bubble In Britain, Too? You wrongly cite Britain as a country where "people are more prone to rent than to buy" their homes ("How hot is too hot?" European Business, Oct. 20). On the contrary: Britain has the highest rate of home-ownership among major world economies. Almost 70% of households are owner-occupiers. The private rental market almost died out here until the past few years -- though now "buy to let" is booming, especially in areas such as London, where sky-high prices are putting homeownership out of many people's reach. On the other hand, the rate of new-house building in Britain is less than half of Spain's 500,000 per year. So if Spaniards worry about unaffordability and a potential bubble leading to a crash despite a half-million new homes coming on the market annually, maybe we should worry, too. It can happen -- and blight entire economies. Just look at Hong Kong and, above all, Japan. Aidan Foster-Carter Shipley, England The Costs And Benefits Of Being Single In "Unmarried America" (Social Issues, Oct. 20), some of the single and/or childless of our country were cited as feeling shortchanged by the fact that they have to pay the same school-funding property taxes as their neighbors with kids. Is that fair? Actually, the childless should be paying more. Children are a scarce resource these days, and demographic studies tell us that may be a bad thing. Families are shouldering most of the investment in America's future, even though single people will share in the returns. This is especially true in traditional families where stay-at-home moms and dads sacrifice billions in foregone income. Benjamin W. Fanger Chicago
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