Encourage growth instead of a trade war
Public debate is healthy, but it needs to cover both sides of issues we all struggle with. The Post-Gazette editorial board has taken positions of late that are one-sided and support the current national administration. When supporting protectionist policies, the PG has not given voice to other important factors.
First, the alleged decades-long trade war is largely of our own making. Tax policy has made it productive for American companies to offshore manufacturing, and even service sector jobs like call centers have gone overseas, where there are sources of labor cheaper than domestic workers. Instead of putting up barriers to foreign goods, we would be smart to change our own policies to make it economically disadvantageous to build factories overseas or outsource to foreign contractors.
Whining that the rest of the world is unfair to us, and then taxing American business in the hopes that domestic production will increase, seems a fool’s errand.
Perhaps, eventually, after sufficient stability has returned and businesses see opportunity in building world-class factories here, a wellspring of new activity will erupt. I’m not holding my breath so long as American businesses can offshore where environmental laws are lax and labor is cheap. In the meantime, Americans will pay more and jobs will still flow to third-world countries that are advancing manufacturing aggressively.
Maybe tax advantages should be given to companies to move labor back here and commit to a long-term strategy of building capacity here. Apple, are you listening? JOHN LUFF Sewickley
We welcome your opinion
so we could visit with her in comfort. She was specific about her clothing and accessories, as well as what music should not be played during her Mass. Even the local florist, with whom she’d dealt for years, knew her floral preference.
Consequently, we spent minimal time meeting with the funeral director, cemetery representative and florist, and choosing readings and music for church, leaving us to begin the grieving process and begin finding our new “normal.” I can’t fathom how much more emotionally draining it would have been had we needed to attend to seemingly endless details.
For those of you with families, I ask you to consider sharing my mother’s gift with your own family.
To me, this was the ultimate gift of love. Thank you, Mom. I love you. JENNIFER KIRSCH Brookline African-American men who have been murdered by the police? Just wondering. CARRON GUGLIOTTA Mt. Lebanon
We’re disappointed in the Post-Gazette’s recent coverage of safe, responsible natural gas development (June 20, “Duke Study: Fracking Chemicals Stimulate Fat Cell Development”). The paper ignored two new widely reported independent studies from experts at Penn State University and Yale University that concluded fracking is no major threat to Pennsylvania drinking water.
According to the Penn State research, in fact, Bradford County, one of Pennsylvania’s top natural gas producing counties, “saw an overall trend of improving water quality.” Meanwhile, in the separate Yale study, researchers concluded that “groundwater impacts arising from the process of hydraulic fracturingwere not detected.”
These latest independent, objective studies come on the heels of a recent multi-year University of Cincinnati study published in May, which also found no evidence of groundwater contaminationfrom fracking in Ohio.
Like so many others, these studies reflect our industry’s deep commitment to environmental and groundwater protection. Through commonsense regulations, best practices and continuously improving technologies, responsible American natural gas production is creating good-paying local jobs and strengthening our economy while improving ourenvironment as well as public health in the communities where weoperate.
Unfortunately for readers, who deserve down-the-middle, independent reporting, the PostGazette missed the mark in its coverage. ERICA CLAYTON WRIGHT Vice President of Communications and Membership Marcellus Shale Coalition
Robinson