How to fix the economy

Dear Editor:What's going on with all the bailouts given to companies and banks that have proven to be of no benefit to the economy? What does it take for simple-minded folk to think about an economic chain reaction? That was what Roosevelt had in mind during his term, and it did work. By putting people back to work the economy began to recover. We have so many roads and government buildings that need work before they crumble. We need to keep our parks open and hire people to care for them. And the dams built decades ago need to be repaired and improved. It's so simple! No. 1: put people to work. No. 2: product is produced and services provided. No. 3: people spend earned money on those products and services. No. 4: employers start hiring more. No. 5: workers come off work programs that government started. Voila! The economy will grow. We spend billions of dollars on aid to other countries, but don't do for ourselves. All the economists can come up with is to raise taxes and cut medicare and social security, which are not endowments; we put that money in the government bank to receive when we reach a predetermined age. And what about programs for the needy? No matter what your party is, you should look at what is right. Let's get off the political and special interest train and do what's right in order for our country to start growing again. We need to do this or we are going into a long haul recovery. Our children deserve better. Not more government. I believe within six months things will turn around and improve if we go back to the basics. Think about it. It worked before. It can work again. -- Bob Gustafson, Downey

Dear Editor: I graduated from high school in 1936 which was the middle of the Great Depression. It took me two years to find a job in the engineering field. During that two years I went to night school at the University taking courses in civil engineering and at another school training to become a machinist because they were hiring and I became an apprentice machinist. With all that training I should get a job. My first job came at a machine building company where I was hired as an engineer; they had been waiting for my weekly visit seeking a job. I had to work a six-day, 48-hour week and was paid $10 a week which totaled 21 cents an hour. I was very happy to have a job and would work later if asked. During the Great Depression the price of food and anything you wanted had dropped drastically and you paid cash for almost everything except a house and car and costly items. There were no credit cards, but if you were a good customer you could set up an account. The depression ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor, which put people to work. We are already at war and that isn't helping the economy. The only other answer seems to be the reduction of prices so people can afford to buy at a bargain. Many can't buy what they need because the cost is too high. If the cost were dropped to a bargain they would buy because they need it. When they start buying the manufacturer must work to make more goods and start hiring needed help. I witnessed the unions strike for more money, and they were not resisted because things sold as we, the United States, were the only manufacturer. When cars started coming in from other countires, they were cheaper and less costly to own and operate, so we started buying them. Now we buy many foreign cars and our own makes have come down in price, but we must lower our prices to capture the market. To do this we must all lower the price of goods. If a manufacturer must lower the price he is faced with a layoff or taking a pay cut to still have a job, the answer should be obvious. Why wait till we are forced to this position like the Great Depression? Let's start now with a percent cost reduction by trying 10 percent to start with. The stimulus money to save jobs did not make more jobs. It only hands money to those working, like welfare. That money could be used to put people to work on our roads and other infrastructure. We're heading for a big depression which will lower prices eventually. -- R.C. Englehart, Downey

********** Published: September 08, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 21