I was reading [First Up: "The Wrong Path," Nov. 2010] and it may spell out the problems but it really doesn't offer any solutions. I think the solutions are far simpler than most are willing to admit. Manufacturing is what made this country great and it can again. Costs in China and India are rising, and freight will continue to make U.S. products more competitive. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of products that could be manufactured in the United States but the general mindset is that we can't compete.
Yes we are overregulated and the unions have killed us in the past, but this can all change. What is needed, more than anything else, is capital for manufacturing startups. Startups create more jobs than existing businesses. Startups produce greater innovation and technology than existing businesses.
Capital in the United States must start building U.S. companies, and stop exporting our technology.
For me and many like me, cash is the issue. I am ready to create jobs. I am ready to create exportable products. Where the hell is the support? All this talk about jobs makes me sick.
If we are ever going to turn this mess around, the people with the capital have got to start investing in basic U.S. manufacturing. They must care more about this country than they do about their pocketbook.
Kenneth "Mike" Buck
Buck Marine Diesel Inc.
Winterville, N.C.
