Dear Editor:The hue and cry across the land: where are the jobs, how can we find work, when will things get better? As one of the few remaining survivors of the Great Depression, that is the same cry we heard many years ago. I was born and raised in a town south of Chicago largely comprised of large and small manufacturing industries. We were hit hard. A part of our jobless problem can be found as close as a Wal-Mart, Target, Costco or any other big box store. A dollar store or 99-cent store is especially notorious for foreign-made merchandise. Search through their items for a "Made in USA" label. It's not to be found. It's a vanishing species. Every Tom, Dick and Harry in those foreign countries is busy turning out items we use and we should be manufacturing in the USA but instead we are looking for jobs. During the happy carefree days of the second decade called the "Roaring Twenties," people had plenty of money. We were buying all those items that make life so much better. Everyone was working; we were happy and carefree until that fateful day in October 1929 when the hammer suddenly, unexpectedly dropped. The party was over and the Great Depression was underway, big time. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal stated that companies are shunning investment; they are hoarding cash. They have a higher share of cash on their balance sheets than at any time in nearly half a century. Reluctance to spend by consumers and businesses fearing a domestic downturn further slows our recovery. If history is any indication, our recovery may be slow and not without difficult times. When we fully recover, we should be more successful and much stronger says this prognosticator, this crystal ball-gazer of yesteryear. -- Byron Dillon, Downey

********** Published: September 22, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 23