American ingenuity, work ethic lacking

A short while ago, the Girl Scouts announced that they were soliciting bids in the hope of lowering the cost of uniforms. Their current American manufacturer said that they could not compete with China's labor costs. Evidently, under great pressure, the Girl Scouts agreed to keep their American manufacturer. This brings to mind the question as to where American military uniforms are manufactured.

I recently heard from two sources that there are an estimated 180,000 job openings in the U.S., for 18-wheeler truck drivers. I have not read about any governmental agency trying to fill these positions.

Recently, Blue Cross/Blue Shield was going to lay off 60 workers. Evidently, this huge not-for-profit organization never heard of the word attrition.

I am not sure if these huge windmills used to generate electricity are high-tech or low-tech. Most of these are manufactured in China. China has offered to start manufacturing them in the U.S. if we gave the Chinese corporation the business.

So much for American ingenuity. When I was a youngster, when we had a car, my father loaded all of us into the car for a ride in the country. He always managed to drive by the poor farm to remind us that if we didn't work hard and save our money this is where we would wind up. Then FDR came along and started Social Security. This was started to give people dignity in retirement. It was made mandatory because they knew that the people who were going to need it the most would opt out if it were made optional.

Wallace Miller

Prospect Heights