Letter: Policies help only Big Business

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 8:48 a.m.

President Bush has a dual plan for the economy -- export jobs and import workers. Like everything he has done, this is good for Big Business but bad for the rest of us. I am not blaming Bush for all of the millions of jobs that have been exported. Free trade is a Republican creed, and President Clinton helped the Republicans pass NAFTA.

Building a new plant in a foreign country is expensive, so Congress gave a tax break to companies relocating in a country with cheap labor to facilitate their relocation. Companies relocating in China will encounter various agencies and numerous regulations and restrictions. The federal government serves business well. There is a federal agency staffed with experts to help American companies moving to China steer their way through this maze of bureaucracy.

It is expensive for a company to move their plant to a country with cheap labor. They could save a bundle by moving the cheap labor to their plant. So Bush came up with his "guest worker" program. Importing cheap labor will lower costs and make American products competitive on the world market.

After an unspecified length of time, guest workers will be granted American citizenship. Presumably they will vote Republican out of gratitude for their benefactors.

VERNON BOSTICK