www.sheboygan-press.com

Posted November 18, 2005

Letters: America seems to have lost its way


The United States has lost its world power status due to a war fought for the wrong reasons, prosperity for just a few, wrongdoing by politicians, the scandalous running of FEMA and other government departments and a government run by lobbyists instead of according to the wishes of the people who elect their leaders.


Our biggest mistake was in not maintaining the system of checks and balances.


A Republican president and a Republican-controlled Congress do not maintain a healthy environment for the working class.


The blue collars lost their quality of life through outsourcing. The white collars are now getting hit by the sale of visas to Third World workers who work in technical jobs for low wages. Our young people go to college and then are unable to find good-paying jobs in their fields.


How do we fix that? In the election in 2006, we vote out the Republicans and replace them with Democrats and independents. That way, no party has complete control and the wishes of the people will be heard and acted on.


Next step is to eliminate illegal immigration and secure our borders.


Illegal immigration makes a mockery of the legal immigrants who follow the laws and come to this country legally. They make homeland security a joke because how can you tell an illegal from a terrorist? And how do you fight a war against drugs when the drugs are carried into the country through our porous borders?


The money these illegals make in our country is sent back home, so it isn't even spent here to improve our economy. In Mexico, this income is more than what they make on their oil exports.


The government's mentality is that these illegals do the jobs that Americans don't want to do. But the illegals are in all fields. These are jobs, which used to pay a living wage. But with illegals working for below standard wages, these jobs no longer promote the good life. Our citizens do not receive free medical care and education for our children as the illegals do.


We need to call for strict observance of our laws by all the people.


Why have them if they aren't enforced. And we need to bring back integrity to our judicial system. How can our laws be interpreted differently by each member of the Supreme Court? The men and women who are appointed should be people who can render decisions on the laws, based on the laws themselves, not the individual judge's beliefs or religion. And if we get a bad judge appointed, does it make sense that this judge has a job for life no matter how bad he or she turns out to be?


We can become a world leader again, but it will take a lot of work. We need to tell our Congress that they work for us, not the lobbyists.


Maybe our mistake is that we let them determine their own wages, that we don't rate their work and pay them accordingly.


ROSEMARY REITER


Sheboygan Falls