Letter to the editor
“Regarding 'An interview with Manufacturer X' -- I chuckled to myself when I read this recent anonymous interview. My first question to Mr. X: Why the anonymity? Embarrassed that you probably shipped hundreds of jobs to a Communist regime bent on destroying the West and dominating the world? Strengthening a financial system already holding trillions of dollars of American debt and wielding it as a threat in negotiations with the U.S. government? A network of spies that has penetrated and stolen almost every technology we’ve ever created, developed or advanced to make us the envy of the world? A forced abortion policy that is appalling? Dissent that is met with harsh penalties, including death?
“China is not without its own internal problems. Inflation. A housing bubble looming large on the horizon. A stimulus package that dwarfs that of our own government. Infrastructure constructed by central planners that go nowhere. Scores upon scores of empty housing projects built to keep the masses working and content, yet who can little afford to live in those same tenements built with their own hands.
“Speaking of these masses, they’ve migrated from their farming villages seeking a more prosperous life. Now they’re demanding greater pay, better housing and more food. Unrest is percolating throughout the country. Jobs are beginning to make their way to other low-cost producers in the Pacific Asian Rim. Where does it all end? A race to the bottom. I know nothing about manufacturing. I don’t have an MBA. I’m not an economist. No corporate experience. No international sales experience. I’ve been in the lumber business since I was a kid. I do possess a sharp mind and an outstanding knack for marketing my small, little independent lumberyard here in Central Pennsylvania. I have a high-end lumberyard in every category across the board. You can check it out on our award winning website middletownlumber.com.
“I refuse to sell products made in China! Call me bullheaded.
“Mr. X, why don’t you take a stand? Defend your product and your pricing to your customers. Give them an education about what’s at stake here.
“We’ve become a nation of consumers, not producers. In the interview, the responses to the first few questions posed to Mr. X, he complained about the negative forces impacting his operation here in the U.S. However, as the interview progressed, he seemed to be building a case of the benefits for keeping his company on American soil. Given the degree of distrust, animosity and outright hostility currently directed at the Chinese, feelings that are now so pervasive in this country, perhaps it’s time that Mr. X and his kind re-think their policies of shipping American jobs overseas. The American public got sold down the river by granting World Trade status to the Chinese all in the name of cheap consumer goods. Well the chickens have come home to roost.
“Our Founding Fathers not only put their personal fortunes at risk, but their lives as well. ‘If we don’t hang together, then surely, we shall all hang separately.’ It’s time to suck it up America and get with the program or we’ll no longer be that ‘shining city on a hill.’ ”
— Ed Costik
Middletown Lumber, Inc.
Middletown, Pa.