To the Editor:

Traditionally, Americans have sent lawyers to congressional offices in Washington. The assumption was that they would be able to make laws and regulations. What they actually did is cut deals and trade agreements that are killing American businesses and jobs.  

While you know me as the pistol instructor, my background is stronger in business, having run several major- and medium-sized corporations. Over the years I’ve written many times that we need to send experienced businessmen/women to Washington. The government of the U.S. is one of the largest businesses in the world. Why would you send an inexperienced attorney, with no business experience to run it? A man who have never held a job, never punched a clock, never supervised people, never managed people, never created business plans, budgets or negotiated business deals? 

What Donald Trump is finally revealing is what I have written about for years. Fair trade laws that Washington negotiated served to send large parts of American business overseas. It has created severe economic results in the U.S. Our companies are not doing well, there are not enough jobs for Americans! It is difficult to achieve a middle-class position. Trump is validly pointing out that other countries are stealing from us, bad deals have been negotiated, and it is killing our economy.  

General Motors has now announced that it is going to build a new factory in Mexico. This is a company that the U.S. government had to bail out with taxpayer financial aid. Mitsubishi is closing its Illinois production factory, their only one in the U.S. If you tour the industrial parks in Mexico you will find thousands of U.S. companies that have facilities and jobs there.  

From a business point of view, GM is forced to go outside the U.S. It is the UAW that has almost put our auto companies out of business with $60 to $70 per hour salaries for production line workers. Toyota and Volkswagen have taken over our market. Trump has finally opened Pandora’s Box and has brought the truths to the surface. Now, we all know he is a jerk, but one hell of a businessman. He is leading the polls not because of who he is, but what he knows. We missed one huge opportunity with Mitt Romney. He had the business skills to turn this country around.

Americans seem inclined now to want a woman in the highest office. Regardless of political party, there are many qualified women who head up major corporations who would make an excellent leader for our country. I am searching for a bumper sticker that says ANYBODY BUT HILLARY! She doesn’t have the business qualifications and is just a crafty politician. We need to send business people to Washington who wake up every day with these thoughts:

• What can we do to strengthen American businesses today?

• What laws and regulations can we get rid of today?

• How can we lower the national debt today?

If your child came to you and asked you to cosign for a credit card, and he/she said they were going to charge half of everything they spend, would you cosign for the credit card? You bet your bippy you wouldn’t! Then, why did you let the U.S. government do this over the past few years? That’s why the national debt has skyrocketed. Over 50 percent of the money they spent was borrowed! We need to wake up folks!

Jim Sottile

Franklin

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