Where to lay blame.

• Author: Johns, Robert W.
• Position: Pillowtex's closing - Letter to the Editor

We agree and disagree with the last couple of points in September's Up Front about Pillowtex's closing. Yes, we should be mad at someone. No, we shouldn't dismiss the issue as something no one can address.

We should be mad at (at least) two groups--those who sign trade agreements only to violate them and those who do not hold violators accountable. We should be upset with politicians who fail to address the root causes of problems. Let's throw in companies/trade associations that don't seek corrective action with a vengeance.

The plight of the textile industry (and others) is due to many issues, some internal and some external. That which relates to trade issues has been going on for years, and the Asian collapse in the mid-'90s accelerated the problem. Currency devaluations of 40% and more perpetuated by government intervention are a major factor in Asian/Chinese "competitiveness." Those doing the intervention are clearly in violation of World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund rules.

While most would like to see something done for displaced workers, the real job is seeing to it they are not displaced in the first place. Instead of holding staged events with workers, politicians should be holding violators...