Does S. Carolina know how to build a Boeing?

Editor, The Times:

Though I never built a Boeing aircraft, I did fly them. Because of the dedication, knowledge and expertise of Washington state craftsmen and women, many of those well-designed and constructed airframes are still flying.

Consider that the 707, 737, 747, B-52 and even some B-17s are still aloft. For nearly a century, Washingtonians knew how to build airplanes.

I can appreciate Boeing involving potential buyers in building new aircraft. However, it appears, Boeing has sacrificed quality for a kumbaya feeling. It seems that almost every day I read about some offshore partner -- whose workers do not have the history, the experience or know-how of the Washingtonians who bleed Boeing blue -- erring in their responsibilities.

But it is not only foreign builders and suppliers, but Americans as well. Who ever said South Carolinians could build an airplane? Who installed the wrong fasteners in the wrong places and caused damage to the composite structure?

Again, without the historical background and skill found in the Puget Sound area, the Gamecocks have stumbled. It seems to me that if I ran Boeing, I would want the best product at the best price. And that does not mean the lowest price -- paying a worker $40 an hour for the job done correctly and professionally is less expensive than paying someone $30 an hour for a shoddy job that has to be done twice to get it right.

I guess I am not seeing the big picture because Boeing must know what it is doing and be going in the right direction -- it's too big to fail.

-- Richard A. Virant, Bothell

Threats of strikes, then a final departure of 787 from Washington

The unions and government in Washington state should heed the knell of the vote to throw out the union at the Boeing facility in Charleston ["Boeing Charleston votes to oust Machinists Union," Business, Sept. 11].

As one who grew up in western New York and watched businesses move manufacturing out of state due to the union and government attitude toward business, I see a dramatic parallel with the events of the past year. First, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Idiots Against Management) strike on the only busy business in the nation; second, the shuttering of all the U.S. Marine plants while shifting that production to business-friendly states like Tennessee and Florida.

We should all remember: "Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."

-- Gary M. Schmidt, Seattle

Albaugh will respect Boeing's skilled workers

With the appointment of Jim Albaugh as CEO of Boeing's Commercial Airplane Division ["Boeing fix-it guy leads airliner unit," page one, Sept. 1], a mending process can now begin to right the division and get the 787 Dreamliner flying.

Quoting Albaugh from a Times column: "In its soul, Boeing has always been and remains an engineering company." He continues to say, "the heart of this company is the skilled machinists, technicians and mechanics -- true craftsmen and wizards -- who deliver on their promises everyday."

Albaugh thus recognized the truism that a company's greatest asset is its workers, and it appears the 787 is in good hands. Bon voyage, Boeing!

-- Anthony E. Pomata, Maple Valley

Boeing built by region, owes much in return

Editor, The Times:

Those Boeing officials who are considering manufacturing the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina should study the company's history.

It was the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest out of which Boeing was created and built. Early on, it was the spruce forests of Oregon and Washington. Then it was the region's abundant and low-cost water power that generated the large amount of electricity needed to make aluminum when that became the basic material in airplane manufacture.

Throughout, it was the local intellectual, educational and governmental infrastructure, largely paid for by Washington taxpayers, that trained and nurtured a work force capable of designing and manufacturing great airplanes. South Carolina cannot take credit for any of this. Boeing, having capitalized on these resources, owes something in return.

-- Fred Granata, Lake Oswego, Ore.

Union members need to be team members

When will Everett's Mayor Ray Stephanson and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union understand why Boeing is seeking permits for a 787 Dreamliner final-assembly plant in South Carolina? ["Boeing expansion: permits not required," Opinion, editorial, Aug. 28.]

Boeing doesn't want to deal with striking union members. IAM members are being lead down a dark path with no future. IAM's leaders are relics from the past, and their strong-arm tactics are tiresome.

Consider these things: Boeing's nonunion employees look for ways to improve processes to stay competitive, you're encouraged to do the bare minimum; a company needs team members working toward a common goal, you're labeled as adversarial antagonists by the public; Boeing is in business to make money for everyone's benefit, not be held for ransom losing billions of dollars in revenue and forcing customers to look elsewhere while you're on strike; the list goes on.

Boeing doesn't want volatile workers on their payroll and neither would you. Boeing doesn't have to negotiate with the IAM anymore, they'll just move away. IAM members have a chance to think for themselves and do what's right for Boeing, its entire work force, its customers and suppliers.

Be team members and change for the better.

-- Conrad Rupp, Renton

Boeing going elsewhere doesn't produce results

I think the point has been proven that Boeing aircraft manufacturing must not move from the Seattle area. See what is happening when other parts of the nation and world try to build parts for the new Dreamliner 787? Wrinkles in the fuselage? Come on.

It looks like the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union strike didn't have much to do with the delay of first delivery, although I hope the union and Boeing can work out a deal to avoid such hassles in the future.

Keeping it all here will build the best airplanes available.

-- Douglas Mays, Seattle

Some required reading for health-care debaters

Kudos to The Seattle Times for printing an excellent guest column by Robert J. Herbold and Scott S. Powell ["Government-dominated reform will not improve health care," Opinion, Aug. 23]. These two guys really nailed it. It should be required reading by anyone interested in the current debate on whether or not to allow the federal government to become so heavily involved in our health-care system.

As the writers point out in such easy-to-understand wording, government health care would be a disaster, as a majority of Americans seem to be grasping. With the news now coming out of more and more trillions of dollars being added to President Obama's -- not Bush's -- deficit in the near future, the country simply cannot afford to let Uncle Sam further screw up the system.

-- Scott Stoppelman, LaConner

Diminished regulations, not collectivization, the threat to economy

Robert J. Herbold and Scott S. Powell try to compare failure of collectivization in the manner of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to an anticipated failure of collectivization in government-paid health care.

Encouraging borrowers to amass massive debt in an attempt to make huge profits cannot be equated to spreading risk over the entire population to make health care affordable. To bring about the housing crisis, regulations were diminished, thus encouraging fraud and foolish behavior. To obtain affordable universal health care, enforced regulations and standards would discourage abuse and foolish behavior. Collectivization, in itself, has nothing to do with it.

Read H.R. 676 instead of the endless explanations by Congressman Rick Larsen, Blue Dogs and agenda-driven think tanks that believe a single-payer health system will not work.

Denis Cortese of the Mayo Clinic ["Fresh ideas boost health reform," Opinion, syndicated columnist, Aug. 2] says it will work, and he has no incentive to deceive us.

-- James Bruner, Oak Harbor

Time for personal accountability from corporate crooks

I certainly hope The Seattle Times didn't pay Robert J. Herbold or Scott S. Powell for their thinly disguised market-knows-best rant.

Not only do they attempt to tag proponents of national health care as collectivists, but they blame the entire financial collapse on government bureaucracy. The financial collapse isn't due to the fact that twice in 30 years lenders have gamed the system with straw buyers and conveniently obfuscating financial instruments. No, financial collapse was due to government mismanagement and the suppression of infallible market forces.

Their thesis is hogwash, and until this country demands accountability out of both individuals and corporations, we will be systematically fleeced again and again. We need to treat swindlers harshly. No more country-club jails. Life sentences and hard labor.

Complete forfeiture of all property and equities including those belonging to anyone accepting transferred assets. And while we're at it, break up the corporate boards of directors who enable the "your lotto winnings are peanuts compared to my annual earnings" corporate pay structures.

Don't let businessmen tell us how to receive benefits that should be national services, or we are all going to become commodities working at the discretion of corporate overlords.

-- Michael McInnis, Seattle

Government shouldn't need to have all the answers

The article by Robert J. Herbold and Scott S. Powell was the best I've seen on the range of things it covered.

I hope there is still time to avert becoming just another country with citizens expecting the government to answer all of society's problems instead of taking personal responsibility for the choices made in life.

It's difficult to choose which of their points is best because the article is full of excellent ideas, but this one is right up near the top: "It is ludicrous to spend additional hundreds of billions for supposed health-care reform that will limit options, weaken competition and create the largest U.S. government bureaucracy ever while ignoring the reasons behind the insolvency of Medicare and Medicaid."

-- Jeanie McBee, Kenmore

Talking personal responsibility from an ivory tower

When Robert J. Herbold and Scott S. Powell claim in their guest column that "over the past 45 years personal responsibility has been marginalized by collective government policies," they presumably refer to the adoption of Medicare in 1965 but lack the guts to say so.

In their rant against "collectivist political power" from the sanctuary of the Hoover Institution's ivory tower, they display an insufferable arrogance and ignorance of the real world in which the United States is the only economically advanced country on the planet that doesn't or can't provide its people with the peace of mind of guaranteed adequate health care.

Herbold and Powell may have failed to notice that China, which they seem to offer as a model of economic and social policy, is still a communist-collectivist state that provides universal health care to its people.

I have no doubt that Herbold and Powell would also welcome the abandonment of Social Security and a return to the good old days of the late 19th century before the government started interfering with private industry by regulating child labor, wages, hours and the right of workers to organize.

-- Dan Levant, Seattle

Thanks to The Times, staying off Boeing's Play Doh plane

The Seattle Times has, for many years, done a great job of untangling complex details of aerospace manufacturing without making its highly readable articles seem dumbed down. This goes back to Byron Acohido's outstanding investigative series on the mysterious 737 rudder control problem, the notorious MD-80 jackscrew story and now the perils of baking the composite pastry that will be the 787 Dreamliner ["787 fuselage work halted," page one, Aug. 14].

I wonder how many other readers share my reaction to these latest events: What a screwed-up way to build an airplane!

Will Boeing outsource the legal defense work necessitated by lawsuits launched by angry customers and shareholders to five foreign nations as well? You know, so everybody gets their fair share of the work.

Just to be on the safe side, it will be many years before I strap myself into one of these Play Doh comets.

-- Charles Pickel, Seattle

If it's a Boeing, I'm not going

My god, what next for Boeing? Now there are more delays in the 787 Dreamliner program. Gee, who's at fault now?

The Machinists Union gets blamed for everything, but they're without fault when it comes to the corporate decisions concerning problems building the 787. None of it is the unions' fault -- not the strike, not anything.

Every decision made about the building of any Boeing product comes from management, period. The workers have no say. Which idiot manager dreamed up this ridiculous idea of farming out virtually all the work on the 787?

It was management's idea, and they made the decision. Will this screwed-up plane ever fly? Who would want to risk their life trying?

There used to be a saying: "If it's not Boeing, I'm not going." Obviously, that should be changed to: "If it's a Boeing plane, I'm not flying."

-- Richard B. Ellenberger, Normandy Park

Convert clunker program to make natural gas cars

Instead of giving car buyers $4,500 to buy a gasoline-powered, fuel-efficient car, spend the money on converting existing new cars to natural gas.

That way we put more cars on the road that burn a fuel -- natural gas -- made in the U.S.A. instead of oil from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Vietnam, Iraq, or someplace where there is an oil war.

-- Martin Nix, Seattle

A call for compassion in 'cash for clunkers'

While the "cash for clunkers" has been a huge success for the automobile industry, I think it's important to point out not everyone got an opportunity to trade in their old car for a nice new one. Specifically, someone who is recently widowed.

My best friend died in April, and his wife dutifully had the registration on his 1999 Cadillac transferred to her name. She recently made the trek to a dealership in Kirkland to trade it in on a new Chevy Aveo only to find out she hadn't "owned the car for a year."

She pointed out that while the car's title had been in her husband's name, the insurance was in both of their names, and she had his death certificate and all of the other supporting documentation showing the car belonged to the family for more than four years.

She called the government's hotline, which confirmed she indeed did not qualify because she had not owned the car for the required 12 months.

It seems a shame that in the rush to put money into the car companies' bank accounts, those who drafted this bit of pork couldn't have found it in their hearts to include those who have recently been dealt a tough blow in life and who could probably use a break now more than most.

-- Randy Carl, Kent

Clunkers rebates too high for small mileage improvement

The "cash for clunkers" program is obviously popular and an unequivocal boon to automobile dealers and Americans who want to unload their low-value gas guzzlers.
But the program is not nearly as effective as it could be -- as it should be -- in producing environmental gains with this generous subsidy.

Before we pour billions of more tax dollars into this program, the U.S. Senate should seize the opportunity to elevate the fuel-efficiency standards for clunker trades to qualify for a subsidy. Buyers have been getting $3,500 rebates for buying new vehicles that get as few as four miles per gallon more than their clunkers. And buyers have been getting a maximum $4,500 rebate for new cars and trucks that get an extra 10 miles per gallon.

This program needs to be recalibrated to provide a better return on benefits to energy security and the environment.

-- Andrew Prieditis, Seattle

Don't punish those who take action

I think that getting fired because of doing something noble and decent is an absolute outrage. What Jim Nicholson did ["Bank teller foils holdup, nabs suspect -- loses job," page one, August 1] was dangerous and careless, but he responded to not only the man in front of him, but he also stood up and battled the ongoing sense of terror, violence and horror our country has been completely saturated with.

I believe Nicholson's efforts were heroic, and Key Bank should have promoted him rather than throwing him out onto the streets for doing what was right and good.

Shouldn't we as humans be empowered to stop injustice and immorality when we are provided an opportunity? Or have we become so liberal, blasé and indifferent that even crime is a slightly taboo occurrence and a fact of normal everyday life.

I would be delighted with an opportunity to do as Nicholson did -- grab someone doing something blatantly wrong and illegal and be a part of the system that removes one more predator off the streets. I don't want these people living among me, and obviously Nicholson doesn't either.

Key Bank, on the other hand, seems to want to passively sit by and regard the incident as just "one of those things" and let police, with mountains of similar cases, lose it in the shuffle.

Key Bank's response to Nicholson's actions made a declaration to every would-be criminal and pathological crook that they are welcome to walk on in and rob the place. After all, their employees have been trained to stand idly by.

Well, I guess this is one bank that has found a way to offer a truly free service!

-- Jennifer Wiese, Kent

For criminals, Key bank might as well have valet parking

When you mandate compliance to the actions of urban terrorists, you give free rein to those who would take by force whatever they want and encourage further anti-social behavior and societal decay.

Since that is Key Bank's corporate policy, I suggest a new advertising campaign: "At Key Bank, you show us the gun, and we'll give you the keys!"

It could be accompanied by a nifty program of reserving a parking space at the front door of each branch for robbers or, where a space is not available, offering valet "heist and flee" parking service.

By its actions, firing a brave clerk who captured a thug, Key Bank has announced to thieves everywhere that it's doors and vaults are open for crooks. Does any sane person really want to entrust their money or valuables in a place like that?
The people of Seattle should withdraw all accounts from Key Bank and move them someplace safer.

-- S. Roy Stone, Henrico, Va.

For bank, firing employee means more risk of robbery

What a mistake by the bank! Jim Nicholson is a great employee and conscientious citizen. If he is not appreciated there, I say he should move on to better things.

But what kind of idiots are running that bank? They have just opened themselves up for so many more robberies of so many other branches. We had an all-night store that was robbed, and they also said in the paper that they do not resist.

It was hit three more times that month, no weapons ever showed. Duh! They are going to miss Nicholson, and the bank deserves what headaches it gets over his firing and any future robberies that occur.

-- Doreen Powers, Pocono Mountains, Penn.

Another beer summit, this time for fired teller

Key Bank should reinstate the employee they fired ["Bank teller foils holdup, nabs suspect -- loses job," page one, August 1] for chasing down the bank robber. The public's reaction is going to be on the side of the fired bank employee's. That way they could all --even the bank robber -- end up having a beer with the President Obama.

-- L. Wayne Shoupe, Seattle

For fired teller, a cash reward instead

I just read in my newspaper, The State in Columbia, S.C., about the Seattle bank teller who ran down and held a bank robber until police arrived -- and then was fired from his job.

If that had happened here, people would be at the bank withdrawing their money. There would be a rush equal to the 1929 bank rush that began the Great Depression.

I think the teller should at least get the reward offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for assisting in the arrest of bank robbers. And maybe the Seattle Police Department could use him.

-- Douglas Brazell, Columbia, S.C.

A week off, not termination, for catching bank robber

Key Bank should be ashamed for firing the employee who chased and caught a bank robber.

I don't care what kind of policy the bank has; maybe a warning and a week off would be a better solution. But to fire someone as brave and responsible as that person in these economic times is nothing short of disgraceful.

I urge others who feel the same way to speak up, and let this bank know they did the wrong thing. I live in Tucson, Ariz., and bank robberies here are common occurrences, partly because people know they can get away with them.

Congratulations to the bank teller, who has my respect.

-- Buck Brower, Tucson, Ariz

Teller has a future in police work

I found Jim Nicholson's story heroic, and thank goodness he is safe. It's sort of funny because evidently he did the same thing at other retail jobs.

I don't know if anyone has contacted him or encouraged him to join the police. But we would love to have him here in San Antonio, Texas. Someone with that much determination and drive is a huge asset.

Encourage Nicholson to join the police. He won't ever get fired in that profession as long as he is doing his job.

-- Michelle Willingham, San Antonio, Texas

With compliance encouraged, robbing a bank is too easy

As much as Key Bank, Seattle Police and the FBI don't agree with Jim Nicholson's response to a bank robbery by chasing the culprit, it disturbs me that we are reacting disapprovingly against people who try to stop crimes as those who commit them.

After having dealt with the frustration thieves cause at work myself, I can only say that if someone were to demand money from me under the lame threat of a verbal ransom he would find himself eating pavement, too.

According to the article, Washington is among the top 10 states in bank robberies. With policies like those Nicholson violated now commonplace, should it shock anyone? The reason the robber didn't carry a weapon was probably because he expected compliance, like he was supposed to get.

Now that Key Bank has one less employee on their payroll, perhaps they can use that extra cash to hire some armed security guards to protect their assets, so unarmed people like Nicholson don't feel pressured to themselves.

-- T.J. Martinell, Bellevue

Latest Kindle blunder shows failures of bureaucracy

Apparently Jeff Bezos wisely apologized for the way Amazon deleted customer purchases ["Amazon sued over Kindle deletion of Orwell books," seattletimes.com, Local News, July 30] from their Kindle reader because Amazon did not have the right to sell those books.

It sounds as though the big failure was lack of communication. That is an ongoing problem with Amazon's bureaucracy, which costs them sales. In the event of any problem with a transaction, it is not possible to communicate with Amazon except at substantial cost in personal time.

It's as though Bezos cannot see a parallel between his user-friendly change of toy packaging arising from what he experienced directly, and the user-unfriendly aspects of the bureaucracy he has built.

But perhaps he just has the usual executive shortcoming of not effectively educating staff on principles from sound values, a problem Bill Gates had and a challenge that Boeing's Jim McNerney seems to recognize but struggles to deal adequately with.
We know there is no future for a bureaucracy -- they die, perhaps slowly if their past performance was good, but they die.

Good luck to Bezos in forestalling that day with Amazon.

-- Keith Sketchley, Saanich, B.C.

No need to disguise ad placement in Kindle

Here's another instance of life imitating "Seinfeld." Do you recall the episode in which Jerry was appalled at Elaine's non-tilting of her juice bottle to distribute the sediment, as she found it too onerous a task to perform?

Now, Amazon's head honcho, Jeff Bezos, wants us to believe that turning a page in a book is also that overwhelming a job ["Keep your ads out of our books," column, NWSunday, August 2].

So Bezos is kindly providing me with the opportunity to spend hundreds of dollars on a machine with an easily cracked protective cover ["Amazon makes good on cracked Kindles," Business, July 16] that I must then supply with batteries to turn my pages -- after I push a button to get it to do so.

At least have the guts to not be so disingenuous, Bezos. Why not be honest and tell us the truth, which is that you're trying to create revenue by inserting ads in the books people read.

After all, you've no need to worry that your scheme will flop. Just look at how easily the clothing and footwear industries have suckered countless millions worldwide into being walking billboards for their products and financial gain.

-- Gayle Richardson, Seattle

Nothing but idiocy in 'cash for clunkers'

It is astounding that the Obama administration would join Congress in lauding and rescuing one of the most poorly planned and thought-out programs ever.

I voted for President Obama on the hope that yes, maybe "we can." He seemed so authentic, and I was especially heartened by his oft-stated concern for environmental issues.

This "cash for clunkers" gimmick, however, is irresponsible and totally contrary to the goal of developing a future energy policy that is not based solely on fossil fuels.

It rewards greedy car owners who can turn in their oldest car, get a brand new one that makes just a couple more miles per gallon and pocket $4,500 from the National Treasury. Now they can add a high-end hybrid to their shiny new Lexus and claim to be green.

Did it not occur to Congress and the president that the neighborhood meth addict can now turn in his pile of junk for a nice new ride and plenty of money to feed his addiction?

This is nothing more than a free gift to the greedy and the car dealerships under the guise of doing something to combat global warming.

Just brilliant. Brilliant idiocy.

-- Richard P. Champlin. Seattle

Government can't handle 'cash for clunkers' -- or health care

President Obama's "cash for clunkers" program is well named.

Under the program, you can buy a new car and receive credit up to $4,500 of taxpayer money if your new car gets at least four gallons per mile more than the trade-in. Once the trade is made, the trade-in car is crushed, even though there are thousands of hard-working citizens who would love to have it.

The government estimated that the $1 billion funding would cover the program for four months, but it went broke after four days. The government is in total confusion as to how to administer it.

After changing its position three times, Obama's administration proposed an additional $2 billion.

And this is the same government that wants to administer its proposed massive health-care program.

Good luck, America. You will need it!

-- Richard King, Seattle

No faith in government health care after clunkers debacle

Congress gives us "cash for clunkers" and four days later suspends it, leaving buyers and dealers in limbo over the weekend. These same Congressmen promise we can keep our health insurance and doctor with their government option. Incredible.

-- Phillip A. Scott, Maple Valley

Just follow the signs to see why Boeing may leave

A recent visit to the Boeing plant in Mukilteo provides a poignant metaphor for the relationship between Boeing and Greater Seattle. Many other visitors and I got lost on the way to the Boeing tour due to insufficient signs.

Boeing advised us that the government highway authorities thought there were too many signs already and refused to allow Boeing to put up signs directing visitors to their tourist facilities. I can assure you South Carolina will ask Boeing, "How many signs?" and "Where shall we put 'em?"

Sam Howe Verhovek ["Boeing and Puget Sound -- shared DNA," Opinion, guest columnist, July 19] engages in some wishful thinking in hypothesizing that Boeing rocket scientists have overlooked important factors in their move.

What is surprising is that they have waited this long. Boeing gives me the same feeling that Caterpillar did in the '90 s when they were dealing with labor unrest. They made the tough decisions and have been the darling of Wall Street ever since.

Boeing is appropriately responding to Seattle's tepid embrace.

-- Bob Bell, Brooklyn, New York

Unions aren't team players for Boeing success

A word of advice to Boeing unions, specifically the International Association of Machinists: As an outsider looking in, I can tell you that you're being led down a dark path with no future.

Your leaders are relics from the past and their strong-arm tactics are tiresome. Consider that Boeing's nonunion employees look for ways to improve processes to stay competitive, yet you are encouraged to do the bare minimum. A company needs team members working toward a common goal, but you're labeled as adversarial antagonists by the public. Boeing is in business to make money for everyone's benefit, not to be held for ransom losing billions of dollars in revenue and forcing customers to look elsewhere while you're on strike, and the list goes on.

Boeing doesn't want volatile workers on their payroll and neither would you. Get your heads out of the sand, guys and gals: Boeing doesn't have to negotiate with you anymore. They will just move away. You've got a chance to think for yourselves, and do what's right for Boeing, its entire work force, its customers and suppliers.

Be team members, and change for the better.

-- Conrad Rupp, Renton

Plastic bags for plastic wings?

Could it be that, secretly, Boeing is behind the plastic grocery bag ban because it needs plastic bags for the wing repair on the 787 Dreamliner?

-- Ed Anderson, Kirkland

Sponsorships -- like Seattle's fireworks -- do pay off

I don't expect Chase to survive if they really believe sponsorships are not a their sweet spot ["No more cuts for Seattle, Chase CEO Dimon says," Business, July 16]. Sponsorships are the only area of advertising that is growing in this economy, according to IEG.

Bank of America finds that sponsorships are the most effective advertising it does, and the bank gets a 3-to-1 return on investment. They are the most effective way to really build a connection with your target customer.

Are you going to remember a billboard ad that wants you to switch to Chase? I don't think so. On the other hand, will you remember Red Bull's Robbie Maddison jumping the London Bridge with no hands?

Of course, Chase's fireworks sponsorship failed -- they didn't have proper activation and tracking metrics in place.

Chase needs to get the bean counters out of its marketing department.

-- Thomas Finnelly, Seattle

I miss WaMu

Jon Talton's column reports that "nobody seemed to miss WaMu" when Chase's CEO spoke to Seattle Downtown Rotary ["Last man standing still has fastpitch worth extra innings," Business, July 16] but only tells us about that audience -- not Seattleites in general.

I'm not a Rotary member, an angry shareholder or a former employee, but I am a former customer of WaMu, and I miss it. Since the 1940s, I had savings and checking accounts with WaMu and eventually mortgages and home-equity loans. WaMu paid me some interest, and I paid them more. Throughout, I always felt I was treated fairly and courteously.

I haven't done business with Chase, but its advertising rubs me the wrong way. It's as if we're supposed to believe Chase came here from New York to do banking right and save us from ourselves.

No thanks. I'm still going to miss WaMu.

-- Charles Davis, Seattle

Concessions must be made to keep Boeing here

Editor, The Times:

Jon Talton may be correct in his contention that executive blunders have had a bigger effect on Boeing's competitiveness than the strikes ["Washington may benefit from Southern strategy," Business, July 12]. But as we look ahead, whether he is or isn't correct is irrelevant.

What is relevant is the question of what it will take to persuade Boeing to locate the second Dreamliner 787 line -- and probably the 737 replacement line -- here. And then the question of whether the state and the unions are willing to pay the price. Boeing, just to survive, must continually improve its competitiveness. This means building airplanes wherever they can get the best overall cost, schedule and quality performance. Clearly, a no-strike commitment would be a major incentive for them to remain here, and the lack of one would be a major incentive to move.

Strikes and overly generous and restrictive contracts were major reasons for the collapse of the U.S. auto industry. If Boeing workers don't want to end up as United Auto Workers members have, they will need to help, not hinder, Boeing in its efforts to improve its competitiveness.

This applies to Washington state as well. If the state wants to continue to enjoy the payrolls, taxes and other economic benefits brought by Boeing, they need to give Boeing incentives to stay.

-- Clark B. McKee, Anacortes

Union already has a simple no-strike clause

I wonder if Jim McNerney's job as the CEO of Boeing is to run the company into the ground --if it is, he should get a raise.

I also think that the machinists union already has a no-strike clause: If the machinists are offered decent contracts without removing benefits they've already fought for, they won't strike.

-- Dan McCafferty, Naches

Climate legislation doesn't have watchdogs' support

Recently, a bill called the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. This piece of legislation promises, if it passes the Senate, to create a booming clean-energy economy, and a safer, healthier economy in the process.

Not so fast. Truth be told, the ACES bill has some things up its sleeve. According to Friends of the Earth, it goes easy on egregious emissions offenders, big oil and dirty coal. Another respected environmental watchdog, the Sierra Club, points out that the bill was written in part by uberpolluters Shell and Duke Energy. And lastly, Greenpeace refused to lend its support as well.

I hope folks send a clear message to their senators that this flawed document needs some serious overhauling before signing into law. The Earth is already exploited and exhausted enough resource-wise, and besides, what kind of legacy do we want to leave our children and grandchildren?

I just wish that those with fossil-fuel concerns see past the short-term and realize the huge profits they stand to reap if they go green.

-- Aaron Hunt Warner, Seattle

Looking for leadership from senators on energy bill

President Obama's call for comprehensive energy and climate legislation this year was answered recently by the U.S. House of Representatives passing the American Clean Energy and Security Act.

The legislation will establish a new energy policy that reduces dependence on foreign oil and builds a domestic clean technology manufacturing base to supply wind, solar and other renewable energy. The bill also takes significant steps toward solving the global-warming crisis by limiting carbon pollution.

I applaud Congressmen Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jim McDermott, Dave Reichert and Adam Smith for voting yes.

But the battle is far from over as the Senate now begins working on this bill. I look forward to Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell providing real leadership to ensure passage. Strengthening this legislation as it moves through the Senate is essential to meeting its potential to jump-start the American economy. Specifically, the Senate should strengthen key provisions related to the Renewable Electricity Standard, investments in clean energy, energy efficiency and training and fair treatment for our workers.

Sens. Murray and Cantwell need to stand up to big oil and coal industries and set America on the path to a clean energy future.

-- Joelle Robinson, Seattle

Climate-change reports along with alien abductions

Mary L. Schapiro, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, wants corporations to report climate-change impacts on their quarterly and annual reports. I think that is a great idea as long as the following similar items are also included in this new reporting requirement:

• Alien abductions: If any corporate officer has been abducted by aliens and brain scanned that should be reported in detail.

• Psychic brain storms by corporate management resulting in business and revenue losses.

• Haunting and evil spirit intervention in corporate profits.

• A complete report of all tarot card business-fortune forecasts in order to prevent insider trading.

-- Bob Clark, Monroe

Bellevue ordinance unfairly punishes the victims

I can't think of a more blatant punish-the-victim law than the Bellevue ordinance -- endorsed by The Seattle Times ["Bellevue is right to corral carts," Opinion, editorial, July 9] -- that fines businesses for shopping carts that are stolen and abandoned on the streets. What's next, fining fast-food restaurants when customers throw paper cups by the wayside?

I shouldn't have mentioned it -- some bureaucrat reading this will think it's a good idea. Or will The Seattle Times be required to retrieve every newspaper that's found blowing down the road?

Ridiculous? Of course -- as ridiculous as the Bellevue shopping-cart ordinance.

-- Stephen Triesch, Shoreline

A mechanical solution to cart theft

I appreciated The Seattle Times' editorial concerning shopping carts and how to control their pilfering and return to the proper store.

It reminded me of our experience in Brussels, Belgium, several years ago when we visited a supermarket, and seeking a shopping cart, found a line of readily available carts, secured in a dispenser much like the ones that dispense luggage dollies at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We had to insert one euro coin to release our cart, and when we were finished with it, returned it to a similar receptacle where our coin was fully refunded as soon as we secured the cart back at the end of the queue.

Pretty simple mechanical solution to a vexing problem.

-- Ben Yount, Federal Way

Borrow a shopping-cart system from our northern neighbors

The shopping cart scenario that Bellevue and other cities deal with on a daily basis has a very simple answer: Go to Canada and borrow another great idea from our progressive pals to the north.

Safeway and several other Canadian grocers have the perfect plan already in place: Attach the shopping carts together at the handle, then make the customer put a quarter into the second-to-last cart to release the last one.

When the customer returns and reattaches the cart, the quarter is returned. Shopping carts that are not returned are ripe for street people to return and garner 25 cents apiece -- much more lucrative practice than scouring down a bagful of sticky aluminum cans.

Surely it would not take a huge effort for our grocers to put their collective heads together and pattern our shopping-cart system to work like the Canadian plan.
This solution is as close as your backyard, grocers!

-- Marilynn McGlashan, Seattle

Negotiating away right to strike is not an option

Editor, The Times:

The Boeing Machinists Union's recent strike is a proud example of hardworking Americans' efforts to protect themselves from the unadulterated greed of increasingly wealthy management.

Boeing routinely pays its CEOs tens of millions of dollars annually in salary, bonuses and severance. Union workers are routinely asked to make concessions, presumably so the increasingly wealthy can become obscenely, grotesquely wealthy. The union has a strong voice in the process only by having the right to strike.

Politicians like Norm Dicks and columnists like Danny Westneat ["Don't let Boeing slip away," NWWednesday, July 8] who suggest that any union even consider negotiating away the right to strike are only hastening our return to the robber-baron era when concepts like workplace-safety standards, minimum wage and weekends off were but a dream.

-- Jim Trimbell, Shoreline

Maybe Puget Sound should just let Boeing go

So Boeing has decided that unless the union agrees to never again strike, they are moving out of the state ["Key lawmakers warn of Boeing ultimatum," page one, July 8]. What a bunch of manure!

Why not just return to slavery? It would be good for business. No more pesky contracts, no more benefits.

There is a special place in hell reserved for the executives who are making millions and blaming the unions for any problems they encounter.

I, for one, am disgusted. Any politician who does not remind the company and themselves of the numerous tax incentives and benefits Boeing has already received is remiss. And as we can see from past agreements, Boeing is never going to have enough to ensure that it will stay in this area.

I say we let them go, and don't let the door hit them on the way out.

-- Carol Barber, Kent

Delays are result of Boeing outsourcing, not strike

Boeing and Norm Dicks blame the machinists' strike for the delay of the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing wants a no-strike clause, or it will pick up its jobs and move them to South Carolina.

In truth, all the machinists have done is provide livable-wage jobs with decent benefits to thousands in the Puget Sound area. Boeing, on the other hand, has outsourced its production inefficiently and "cheaply," and it has gotten what it paid for:

• Sept. 6, 2007: Boeing announced its first delay of Dreamliner.
• Oct. 11, 2007: Boeing announced at least a six-month delay.
• Dec. 11, 2007: Boeing announced it was working through "wrinkles" that would delay the Dreamliner until "late 2008."
• Jan. 2, 2008: Boeing listed "unresolved production problems" had pushed delivery until 2009.
• Feb. 2, 2008: Boeing transferred two executives to a "special assignment" involving production problems.
• Sept. 7, 2008 to Nov. 1, 2008: The machinists' strike stopped production.
• June 23, 2008: Boeing released information that the problems were related to parts manufactured by Fuji and Mitsubishi that don't meet properly in 36 separate places where the wings meet the body.

Boeing will move to South Carolina if they can't break the union, but we all know that it is Boeing's "doing things on the cheap" that was responsible for the delays, not the machinists.

-- Thalia Syracopoulos, Seattle

Keep the carts in a corral

I wonder if Bellevue has looked at other cities or countries in its search for the answer to disappearing shopping carts ["Bellevue ponders measure to herd lost shopping carts," NWMonday, July 6]. I recall from living in Washington, D.C., that many area supermarkets installed railings along the edge of the store's entrance sidewalk with openings wide enough for foot traffic to pass through but too narrow for a cart to leave the sidewalk. Full carts are left inside the railing while the customer gets his car from the parking lot.

The customer then drives alongside the railing and transfers his groceries from the cart to the car. The cart never leaves the store. An interesting side effect with this system is that many shoppers with few purchases choose to hand carry them to their cars rather than return for the sidewalk pickup.

Also, coin-operated carts, similar to those used at airports, are widely used in Europe.

-- W.F. Potter, Seattle

European deposit system keeps carts at stores

Supermarkets in a European country I visit frequently use a simple automated system.
To obtain a shopping cart, one must deposit either a euro or half-Euro, which is returned to the customer when the cart is returned.

This simple system has significantly reduced the problem of people taking carts and not returning them. Perhaps a similar system would ameliorate the problem described in Bellevue, without government intervention.

-- Jay Tripp, Redmond

Charleston 2, Seattle 0

Editor, The Times:

We gave you our superintendent of schools. You gave us the assembly of the 787 Dreamliner. It's a win-win for Charleston, S.C., on all counts.

-- Richard Lennon, Charleston

Boeing to Washington: leaving on a jet plane

I read your editorial ["Change the tone to keep aerospace jobs," Opinion, July 8], and it ranks right up there with listening to a crackhead talk about sobriety.

Watching Boeing do business in Washington has been like seeing an alternate episode of "The Sopranos." Apparently, Boeing decided it was done paying protection money. Does anyone really believe Boeing will be in business here in Washington five years from now? I think anyone with eyes could see the signal sent when headquarters moved to Chicago.

Can our local and state governments respond to this upcoming loss? I expect continued spending like drunken sailors. How long will it be before a bloody ear is sent to headquarters? It shouldn't really matter whose it was because nobody in Olympia or King County has been listening for years.

-- Bob Boren, Tacoma

S.C. move latest in series of Boeing blunders

Boeing senior management has embarked upon a series of disastrous decisions in recent years that are damaging its reputation beyond repair.

Management outsourced far too much 787 Dreamliner design and manufacturing to companies such as Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (which has a proven track record of ineptitude), resulting in years of delays on the aircraft's delivery. Boeing has admitted the same publicly.

Management mishandled negotiations on the 2008 contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), resulting in a 57-day strike that was ended by agreeing to terms that should have been offered during initial contract negotiations and would have avoided the strike in the first place. Boeing then blamed the more than two-year delay of the 787 program on the unnecessary 57-day strike. But 57 days does not equal two years.

Management extracted billions of dollars in concessions from Washington state in exchange for assurances that 787 final assembly would remain in Washington. It has changed these terms and now demands further concessions in the form of reduced labor and unemployment benefits as well as a no-strike agreement with the IAM for the same agreement. What guarantee is there that there will be no further demands upon the state of Washington and the unions?

Management is now considering a ruinously expensive investment to construct a duplicate final assembly facility in South Carolina in an area lacking the skilled pool of aerospace talent necessary to operate it.

Is Boeing management deliberately following the path of General Motors and Chrysler?

-- James Patrick, Lynnwood

What do CEOs do with all that dough?

Your article ["Northwest CEOs' paychecks shrank last year," page one, June 21] caused me to think about a perceived perspective of compensation.

The pay ranging from $3.5 to $13 million is given these CEOs by their companies' board of directors as compensation for their judgment and skill in making decisions that determine the direction of these companies, which in turn affects thousands of employees, property ownership and product development and sales.

The value of these decisions is reflected by the continuing success or failure of the company over time. Therefore, big responsibilities require big pay.

However, to put these large numbers in a common perspective, in my 40 years of active employment I've been able to put four children through college with the help of scholarships and their employment, pay for my former wife's master's and doctorate degrees, maintain my payment schedule on a four-bedroom waterfront home and drive a Lexus -- all this on a lifetime income to date of less than $2 million, with some left over to vacation in Mexico, France and the Caribbean.

My only question is: "What do they do with all that money?"

-- James R. Hochstein, Bremerton

CEO a hypocrite for avoiding Obama's taxes

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is an out-and-out hypocrite ["Tax plan would send jobs offshore, Ballmer says," Business, June 4].

Since he spent a ton of money ensuring Barack Obama's presidential victory, the least he can do is show fiscal solidarity with Obama and willingly (if not cheerfully) allow himself, and Microsoft, to be taxed as much as Obama wants. After all, Obama needs as much money as he can grab to pay for his stimulus.

The same goes for everyone in Washington state who voted for Obama -- they should immediately empty their bank accounts, sell all their assets and show their solidarity with Obama by willingly and cheerfully sending the monetary proceeds to him without any complaints.

Ballmer, this is the "hope and change" you received last November. Is it really what you wanted or were expecting?

-- Ken Simmons, Auburn

All grads should take oath -- and seriously

As a physician who clearly remembers and cherishes the day I repeated the Hippocratic oath, I was drawn to the recent article "MBAs will vow to be more ethical" [News, May 31].

As I read the article I discovered that at the Harvard Business School a small group of students had written an oath they asked graduating students to sign essentially saying they would refrain from advancing their own ambitions at the expense of others.

As someone who believes this is an oath we should all take as compassionate human beings, I was slightly surprised that there wasn't already some sort of code of ethical standard at business schools. The real shocker came when I read that only 20 percent of the graduating class was willing to sign it. I find it incredibly sad and disheartening that a full 80 percent of these future leaders of our businesses and Wall Street do not feel comfortable signing such an oath.

The headline surely should have been "Few MBAs vow to be more ethical," and perhaps in the future such an oath should be required for admission to business schools.

-- J. Michael Watt, MD, Seattle

Shortsighted decisions would perpetuate problems

Wall Street is unhappy with Costco ["Wall St. slams Costco's results," Business, May 29]. To quote David Schick, retail analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, "Some retailers cut employees radically to make better [profit] numbers. Costco doesn't think of things that way. Their metronome is set to the year and decade, when others are set to the week and month and quarter."

Isn't the thinking of "the week and month and quarter" the sort of short-term Wall Street thinking that got us into this mess? There was a time when short-term gain was not seen as the Holy Grail and when employees mattered. So Costco is bucking the trend by thinking long term and caring about their employees, and Wall Street throws a fit? And that opinion, from Wall Street, causes the stock to tumble. What is wrong with this picture, and haven't we learned anything?

If short-term thinking -- which will lay more people off and help perpetuate the problems we are facing as a nation -- is the mantra that Wall Street will continue to preach then I fear for our future as a nation. We are riddled with debt from such short-term thinking, from the Holy Grail of huge profit margins always being attainable.

I am a Costco stockholder and member. I think I prefer to march to Costco's metronome.

-- Cathy Aldrich, Shoreline

$210 million profit nothing to complain about

Let me see if I understand: Costco made a profit of $210 million. Will someone please, given the state of the economy today, explain to me what the problem is?

They didn't lose money. They didn't close a bunch of stores. They didn't lay anyone off. They didn't raise their prices much so they've kept most of their customers. They still manage to make a good profit.

Shut up, buy a few shares of Exxon and get a grip!

-- Margaret S.F. Gibson, Monroe

Company's position disappointing

I was distressed to see that Costco was joining forces with Starbucks and Whole Foods to defeat "card check" legislation ["Compromise offered on labor bill," News, March 22].
My husband and I are union members. Because of this, we have living wages that allow us to buy Costco products.

It is truly gut wrenching to see the worker in this country lose the strong middle class that has made America a beacon to the world. When the middle class is successful -- has purchasing power and can afford decent housing, higher education and goods -- our entire country is the beneficiary.

We have seen in the past eight years the antithesis of this, where wealth is concentrated to the few. No one in our country can succeed for long, as we are all now painfully aware.

Costco should be joining forces to strengthen the American worker. It is good for business, the economy, our country and the world.

We can no longer be a member of a company that is leading the opposition to our way of life.

-- Hallette Salazar, Kingston

Do as the Chinese do

Today I read about the pathetic Detroit Auto Show ["Big Three selling optimism at start of Detroit Auto Show," business, Jan. 12] and its anemic exhibitors who are crying about not being able to design efficient cars. I also read about China's new plug-in hybrid electric car that can go 60 miles without using one drop of gasoline. It costs only $22,000 and will be sold here beginning in 2010.

The article about the Chinese car quoted its manufacturer as saying that an electric car is easier to build, and therefore quicker to be put on the market to start selling. So, why is the only thing we hear from American carmakers is one long, continual whine about why they can't do the same thing the Chinese are doing?

Congratulations to Chinese carmakers for doing at the drop of a hat what American carmakers say is impossible. If I could afford it, I would be the first person in line to buy the new Chinese car when it arrives in the U.S.

Good riddance to American carmakers. The sooner they are gone, the better.

-- Jay Kridner, Seattle

Misleading headline

The headline, "Stores closing, but Starbucks buys a jet" [News, Jan. 8] misrepresents the true circumstances.

Within the first three paragraphs, we learn that "Starbucks ordered the jet three years ago" and it just recently came into their possession. That's called taking delivery, not purchasing, and it's not the same thing. Both comments are misleading and sensationalist.

Starbucks deserves an apology, and I expect better from The Seattle Times.

-- Michael Herman, Walla Walla

Truly brilliant

Your recent stories covering the activities of Bernard Madoff, the brilliant financier of all times, make a compelling case that he be considered for the Nobel Prize in economics next year ["Securities experts, investors don't buy Madoff was solo act," Dec. 19; "Madoff's financial empire audited by tiny firm: one guy," Dec. 18; "Madoff's clients all over the world," Dec. 16; "A trusted man, $50B, a "giant Ponzi scheme," Dec. 13].

His absolute great talent was to make people feel comfortable with turning their money over to him for great returns.

He outmaneuvered investment bankers, lawyers, economists, accountants, commercial real-estate investors and developers -- not to mention the folks at Securities and Exchange Commission.

Just imagine some of the comments by individuals who invested in his empire: "They thought Bernie Madoff was genius and anybody, who didn't give them their money, was a fool," and "He was considered a wizard."

Obviously, he is a genius to build an impressive portfolio, at least on paper, that would accumulate approximately $50 billion in a few years. What an amazing accomplishment.

-- Aslam Khan, Bellevue

Noah Berger / The Associated Press

Shoppers rush into an Oakland, Calif., Wal-Mart as the store opens its doors at 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 28. Several hundred people lined up over night awaiting Black Friday deals.

Buy me a shirt for Christmas

Editor, The Times:

President-elect Barack Obama won; do I still need that Canadian T-shirt?

Maybe.

In the wee morning hours of Friday, Nov. 28, citizens of our planet began preparing for the ensuing day ["Wal-Mart worker trampled to death by frenzied Black Friday shoppers," Times, News, Nov. 29]. Two-thirds of the world's population was thinking about how they would find water. Of those who knew where it could be found, many began scouring for animal dung to use as fuel for the fires they'd burn to boil their water before consuming it.

Much of the world spent their morning wondering how they would satisfy the second-most-basic need for human survival.

But not in America; we have that need covered.

With the great liberty of running water, how did we spend our morning? We woke early and we prepared for the holiday season, the beginning of which was marked the evening prior. As we ravaged to get the lowest price on the most stuff, we trampled a man to death. "Get as much as you can," we shouted. "Junior just won't smile the same if he doesn't get as much as Timmy next door."

Many were in such a rush to get the stuff, they put themselves into cardiac arrest. But don't fret for their health. I'm sure the coming epiphany of their gluttony will make a heartfelt anecdote for their introduction next season on NBC's "The Biggest Loser."

Like the lifeless perfection of a Gerome, the scene of such madness could only be one place: the mecca of palatable greed, the devil-in-a-blue-dress herself. Pixar showed us her evil in "Wall-E" -- too bad Jdimytai Damour didn't catch that flick. And you must have missed it, too, because with each ignorant purchase you dig us a little deeper into the depression we still call home.

Don't take my words without a grain of salt. You see, my gloves are far from white, and I, too, have wants and needs. So do me a favor. While you're there, doing your Christmas hording, pick me up a Canadian T-shirt. I think I'm going to need it.

-- Marcus Luce, Bellevue

Oh, what a state we're in

In Zimbabwe, desperate parents pray for food to fill the bellies of their starving children. In the U.S., desperate parents pull the doors off the hinges of the local Wal-Mart, trampling a sales clerk to death in order to buy a Sony PlayStation for a bargain price.

The child in Zimbabwe goes to bed dreaming of a few grains of rice. The child in New York goes to bed dreaming of a new computer game. On CNN, we watch an eerie scene as exalted shoppers haul big-screen TVs and Nintendo Wiis to the counter while someone wheels out the body of a dead man.

When the child from New York smiles at the new technological wonder under the tree on Christmas morning, he has learned from his parents an important message about what is really important to us in the land of plenty.

-- Sharon Brown, Redmond

Don't be fooled

When is a stimulus check not a stimulus? When you have to pay taxes on the money you just paid taxes on ["Bernanke gives nod to more government stimulus," Politics, Oct. 20].

Any stimulus check you get from the government comes with a caveat that requires you to record it as income when preparing your taxes that year. Ergo, you are paying taxes on the tax dollars you paid the government. This is double taxation.

Do you think most people who get a check in the mail know or prepare to pay taxes on this money? Wait until they get the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] notice a year or two later that they didn't pay taxes on their stimulus check; now they owe the taxes plus the penalties for late payment.

The stimulus program is nothing but a Ponzi scheme with taxpayer dollars -- generating more tax dollars from current tax payments. Pretty soon, there will be no income left to keep, except that which the wealthy politicians think you need to keep.

How many millionaires do you think there are in Congress? More than 35 percent, which is less than 1 percent of the population. Know why? They are living off your hard-earned dollars.

-- Art Francis, Issaquah

It's stagflation

Here is an example of how ineptly our government handles the economy: Federal debt exceeds $9.5 trillion and the economy has fallen into stagflation, a combination of economic stagnation and inflation.

The Federal Reserve, ignoring history, wrongly believes interest-rate cuts stimulate the economy. (This tactic never has worked, not for Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and not for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.) So, the Fed repeatedly cuts the discount rate, impacting all interest paid, including the interest the government pays to all those who own T-bills, T-notes and T-Bonds.

The discount rate was above 5 percent in 2006 and 2007. Today it is 1 percent. While Congress creates stimulus packages to send billions into the economy, the Fed's rate cuts cause billions fewer federal interest dollars to reach our economy.

The Fed continues its futile rate cuts, apparently believing if something doesn't work and never has worked, they should keep doing it. With leadership like that, is it surprising we're in trouble?

In a stagflation, the economy is starved for money while prices rise. The cure: the government must pump massive amounts of money into the cash-starved economy, and raise interest rates.

-- Rodger Mitchell, Wilmette, Ill.

Thank you

Dear Blaine Harden: I am an international student from Japan, so I was very happy and interested to read your story, "Japan elevates convenience stores to an art" [Nov. 9, Business].

I love Japanese convenience stores so much, so I thank you for your research. Since I came to the U.S., I have missed them. Japanese convenience stores are fun to go to because there are so many things to do, as you mentioned in your story.

When I read "the most convenient convenience stores on Earth," I agreed. From your story, I have also gained a lot of new knowledge about them.

One thing I was really impressed with was the strategy with which they have standardized the size of the stores. This makes sense and seems effective.

I also realized that they have developed much more quickly than I thought. Thank you for writing about Japan.

-- Masayuki Konishi, Bellevue

I wonder
If I owned a business, I'd like the flexibility to make decisions that would best serve the company's stakeholders ["Boeing engineers union weighs strike plan," Boeing/ Aerospace, Oct. 13]. I'd also try to hire and retain employees who add value and promote a teamwork atmosphere.

When I look at the IAM [International Association of Machinists] District 751 Web site, I see damaging words against Boeing due to their actions, such as, "each day of the strike will cost Boeing $100 million in sales and 1 cent per share in profit."

I read that the Boeing engineers are considering a white-collar strike when their contract is due for negotiation.

I wonder how effective my company would be if I had employees who could prevent me from being nimble in a very competitive marketplace, and I wonder how much I'd value those employees.

I also wonder if a union employee, who establishes their own business, would hire other union employees and the challenges that go with them.

I wonder.

-- Conrad Rupp, Renton

Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press

Boeing machinists and supporters cheer outside a company administration building in Seattle following announcement that negotiations will resume.

Machinists should settle
Editor, The Times:
"Boeing, strikers, returning to table" [Times page one, Oct. 9] says the Machinists union is striking to maintain the jobs they still have left in the Northwest.

I think the union should settle because its members still are making a decent wage, and because the jobs could be outsourced to Illinois: There are plenty of Rust-Belt locations willing to set up a factory floor quickly.

In the 1980s, there was a company making strip-mining equipment in Danville, Ill. The union always demanded and got prevailing wages. The end result was that the company moved all but a sales office to Mississippi, where wages were lower. Nobody in the union thought it could happen. It did.

Does the International Association of Machinists really believe it can't happen here, just because the strike is costing the company money?
-- Keith Wellman, Freeland

Boeing continuing Confederate ways
Boeing spokesmen, facing the threat of a long Machinists strike, are now threatening to move production jobs to the South and turn Puget Sound into a rust belt (although aluminum and carbon fiber don't rust).

Let's put this into historical perspective: As far back as the 1930s, Southern senators, whose votes were crucial to the passage of FDR's New Deal legislation, managed to exclude application of minimum-wage laws to agricultural workers and domestic workers, aka African-American workers.

By the 1950s, Southern states, in an effort to fend off unions (and the prospects of -- horrors! -- black union membership) had passed so-called "Right to Work" laws.

Seeking ever-cheaper labor costs, Northern manufacturers moved their plants south. Detroit's competitors were not in Asia, but in Kentucky or Mississippi. The former Confederacy was for industrialists then what China is now.

Boeing continues to play the Southern strategy.

And isn't it interesting that Airbus, operating in nations with much more highly unionized work forces, is Boeing's major competitor?
-- David Echols, Kirkland

Management is the problem
I write as the Machinists strike at Boeing goes into its second month.

Issues such as pay and the cost of health insurance, which impacts pay, are part of the reason for the walkout. There is however, a more significant issue at stake, which involves whether there should be input by the union members when decisions are made concerning subcontracting or outsourcing of work presently done in-house.

Of course, the obvious concern of the union members is that they have done and can do the various subsets of the final product and, to a high degree of excellence, they see wage increases on the books of little benefit if the jobs are shipped elsewhere.

There is, however, a further consideration. During the 1980s, the teachings of W. Edwards Deming, the so-called author of the "Japan (production) miracle," had some vogue in the United States, and when implemented, were given credit for saving the Ford Motor Co. from bankruptcy.

Deming said, among other things, that the worker is not the problem; management is the problem. He taught that it was important to emphasize quality, that this was achieved by talking to the workers -- the actual people who made the product -- and by listening and accepting their input.

In my (long) experience in the factory, management strains mightily when workers on the line deign to offer that input, fighting it, actually in some cases to the detriment of the product. When workers, united in their union organization, make that joint effort to share in the decision-making process, seeking the goals of better products and of higher profits and, yes, consideration of community and national interests, they are seen by some as a threat to management authority and as a foe to be defeated.

The Boeing top-executive goal is to fragment production to many locations and nations, to nonunion shops to the detriment of quality; and not to actually save money, but rather to ensure sole management control without input from any people who actually have their hands on the product.

Deming must be rolling in his grave.
-- Carl Schwartz, Machinists District 751 (ret.), Sammamish

Union forced workers to strike
I have many patients who work for Boeing, and recently four or five said they did not vote for, nor do they agree with, the strike but support it because they feel forced to by the union.

They are getting $150 a week strike pay, costing their company untold millions at a time when our economy can ill afford it, and they are having to change their insurance to COBRA, which they cannot afford.
I think it is time for the workers to quit being so greedy and go back to work for the good of our community, our country and themselves.

It is a shame President Bush does not step in and stop the strike for our national security and the good of our economy. I supported Bush, but I think he has become totally dysfunctional.
-- Michael deBerardinis, M.D., Auburn

Find a way
I think both Boeing executives and IAM [International Association of Machinists] union leaders ought to have their heads whacked together to knock some sense into them.

The company's slogan is "find a way." How do the union and company think this strike is going to be solved? By burying their heads in the sand?

If they talked to one another again, maybe they would find some common ground.
Negotiation requires each side to give a little.
-- Rebecca R. Hathaway, Federal Way

Something is better than nothing
Boeing's chairman and CEO, Jim McNerney, is only stating a truism when he said that any union that emphasizes only wage and benefits in any settlement package will eventually negotiate themselves right out of a job. An increase in wage and benefits, without a corresponding increase in productivity, is a dead-end street for both the union and industry involved.

Those who choose to ignore this simple economic fact do so at their peril, as auto workers are now finding out. Many have lost their benefits, and those who have lost their jobs are now working for wages that are half of what they once earned.

Is all of this long-term pain really worth the short-term gain?

Settle for what you can get because it's better than nothing at all.
-- Roy Weston, Burnaby, B.C.

What's wrong with America
Editor, The Times:
To Mr. Chick Edwards,

Are you kidding me? You are demanding that Lt. Burke Jensen landscape his new property despite the fact he is serving in Kuwait. ["Battle at home over reservist's yard," Times, Local News, Oct. 6] Your quote, "I really don't give a [expletive] where he is or what his problem is" makes me ashamed of you as an American.

Where Lt. Jensen is happens to be is where his, and your, government sent him. Instead of understanding what this man is going through -- having to leave his pregnant wife and go to the dangerous Middle East, you are adding to his problems.

Do you really think he would rather be in Kuwait instead of at home taking care of his family and property?
You, Mr. Edwards, are what is wrong with this country right now. You are only interested in your own selfish needs and wants instead of the needs of America and its military.

Try to think of the hardships that Lt. Jensen is going through right now while you sit in your comfortable house complaining about how his lawn looks. I hope everyone who can bring pressure to you does so, as well as the military and government.

Being a retired reservist who was called to serve in Iraq in 2003, I know how hard it was to leave my two daughters and the hardship it caused. You, Mr. Edwards, are the kind of person who has me shaking my head and wondering what the [expletive] is happening to our country and it's citizens.

You are an embarrassment.
--Joseph Berlin, Ocean Shores

Soldiers aren't clowns
It was very upsetting to read the story in Monday's paper about the property owner and developer [Chick Edwards] in Kennewick.

It was difficult to believe that anyone could say that they did not give [an expletive] about where a soldier had been deployed and then to read later that he called that soldier a "clown."

I would like to know if there is any place to send money for a lawyer for this soldier and his family or to help the friends in Kennewick finish the landscaping project.

The property-management person should be ashamed of himself.
-- Nancy Kelleher, Lynwood

Misplaced wrath
I was appalled by the statements by the homeowners association president [Chick Edwards] about the reservist who was called to active duty before he got his yard landscaped.

I hope anybody who had thought about buying in that planned community reads about the president's treatment of this reservist and stays far away. This is one more reason that homeowners associations in single-family-developments should be disbanded. The only time a homeowners association should be allowed is if there is a multiple-unit building involved and there must be some separate group to take care of the structure and common areas.

As far as I can tell, the only thing that most homeowners associations do is impose one person's idea about what "looks good" and is "right and proper use" onto every one else in the area.

I hope Edwards ends up on the wrong end of another homeowners association's wrath.
-- Tom Kesterson, Seattle

Kuwait is not a vacation spot
Kennewick developer Chick Edwards manifests the worst of a homeowners association. Deplorable is his threatened lawsuit to make involuntarily mobilized reservist, Burke Jensen, landscape his new lot according to contract.

Edwards was unrelenting -- even when a company Jensen hired to do the work abandoned the job and his fellow employees at Energy Northwest mowed and cleared weeds from the property.

Also disturbing and petty is Edwards citing homeowner covenants to thwart attempts to put the house up for rent, which was Burke's solution for taking care of the property while his pregnant wife and young son live with relatives on the East Coast until the family can be reunited.

Though a neighbor said the yard does not bother him, Edwards (who is the sole member of the homeowners association until he sells enough properties in the development) says he wants the contract enforced no matter what the circumstances are. He calls Jensen a "clown" who "gets to do what he wants."

We know who the real buffoon is here -- the one who harassed a military man.

Jensen made all good-faith attempts to take care of his family and property during his deployment. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects men and women serving their country from circumstances such as this, but unfortunately, Burke Jensen has had to hire a lawyer to enforce these rights.
-- Kathy Ward, Tacoma

Don't defend Chick
As a retired veteran, I was absolutely appalled at reading of the plight of Lt. Burke Jensen.
Shuffled off to duty in the Middle East, with a wife and son who have understandably chosen to stay with family during his absence, and he now has to deal with this garbage?

"I really don't give a [expletive]..."?

"... doesn't have the right to walk away..."?

"... gets to do what he wants..."???

And to think, Lt. Jensen puts his life on the line to defend the rights and freedoms of people like Chick Edwards.
-- Jeff Woodhouse, Seattle

Protest the creep
In these days of bad news, few stories have been more despicable than that of Chick Edwards, the developer of Oak Hill Country Estates in Kennewick.

Chick doesn't "give a [expletive]" that Lt Burke Jensen was involuntarily mobilized to fight for our country. What really has Chick riled is that Lt. Jensen did not get his lawn planted before he left.

In addition to conducting lawful, peaceful demonstrations in the subdivision, veterans should avoid buying property from this pathetic creep.
-- Steven Sewell, Burien

Kudos to the co-workers
I hope that readers take time to contact Chick Edwards about his incredibly insensitive comments regarding reservist Burke Jensen's property.

Perhaps Edwards spoke to the reporter at a particularly frustrating moment, but I would urge him to moderate his characterization of Lt. Jensen as a "clown." It's clear that Edwards is behaving like a clown, if he is more concerned about the appearance of a piece of property than about the livelihood and family of a man serving in Kuwait.

Kudos to Lt. Jensen's co-workers for trying to mitigate the situation.
-- Monica Nixon, Seattle

Give everyone a parachute
The assumptions made in your editorial that the federally-regulated pension plans of Washington Mutual are somehow safe and sound is far from accurate ["Respect WaMu workers," editorial, Oct. 1].

While the pension plan is insured through the PBGC [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.], there is a limit on the maximum insured benefit amount. That limit will cause many recipients to lose pension benefits that they have earned over decades of service to WaMu, while the executives all safely parachute out with millions.

The statement that the 401(k) plan accounts are "owned" by the participants (employees) is not entirely correct. They hold a beneficial interest, not a legal title. The assets are held in a trust and the participants (employees) have individual account balances. The 401(k) plan has no federal insurance and the loss on investments in WaMu stock owned by employees is total.

I think this is worth making clear so that readers are not under the misimpression that the average WaMu employee's retirement savings have not been significantly effected.

The executives, of course, are laughing their way out of the bank.
-- Jeffrey Newman, Seattle

Robbed and cheated
I was a Washington Mutual employee and participated in the deferred-compensation plan. This plan was not just about deferring my bonus. I also put a part of my salary toward the plan in anticipation of my retirement.
I was not an executive at WaMu, but a salesperson who worked on 100 percent commission. This was pay that I opted to save for my retirement.

It is not right that WaMu employees are not being fully compensated by JPMorganChase.
I feel robbed and cheated.
-- John Hopkins, Boston, Mass.

No money, let alone tax cuts

It's reassuring to learn that the Senate is trying to resuscitate the Wall Street rescue plan ["Senate revises rescue plan, will vote on bailout tonight," Times, page one, Oct. 1]. It's appalling that they have added substantial tax cuts in order to appeal to House Republicans who scuttled the plan on Monday.

Throughout this crisis, there has been little mention of the fact that the $700 billion proposed for the plan, on top of the billions we're already spending on the war in Iraq, is not money we actually have in hand. Once again, we would borrow the funds and further mortgage future generations in the process.

To add a tax cut to the bill without including spending offsets is totally irresponsible and heightens the sense that Congress -- along with the Bush administration -- is incapable of protecting the interests of the people they were elected to serve.
-- Erika Giles, Mercer Island

What price inaction?
One of the key arguments used by members of the House, such as U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, to vote against the financial rescue bill was that $700 billion is too much to hand out and not enough taxpayer protection ["Most Dems in Wash. delegation back bill," Politics & Government, Sept. 30].

But, what's the price of inaction?

On the day of the House vote, taxpayers lost more than $1 trillion on paper in the 777-point drop in the Dow Jones. This is taxpayer retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, college savings and 529 [education] plans evaporating before our eyes.

LIBOR [London Interbank Offered Rate] bank-to-bank interest rates are up making necessary borrowing much more difficult for homebuyers and businesses. That means higher unemployment, lost jobs, and home values continuing to drop -- which will mean tens of thousands of dollars in losses for individual homeowners.

The rescue will soften the financial blow by freeing up funds for lending, thus improving home values. The cost of doing nothing far exceeds the cost of the rescue.
Get to work, Congress, and get something done!
-- Ward Drennan, Shoreline

Listen to economists, not politicians
I am thankful Congress did not pass a hastily conceived emergency bill and am hopeful they will craft a more thoughtful response to the financial meltdown -- as long as the updated version values the input of economists over elected officials and Wall Street insiders ["Bailout rejected: Angry voters put pressure on pols," News, Oct. 1].

We need a plan that puts individuals ahead of financial institutions. Instead of bailing out Wall Street, government should assist stressed borrowers. I do not want to be left holding Wall Street's bag of bad mortgages.

I am willing to underwrite loan restructuring for borrowers.
Fifty-seven percent of borrowers who are late on their mortgage payments are unaware of foreclosure alternatives offered by their lenders, according to a survey by Freddie Mac and marketing research firm Roper Public Affairs & Media.

Support a plan that targets them.
-- Victoria Martinsen, Seattle

Put out the fire; pass the bill
I was dismayed and alarmed that both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the bailout measure and defeated it Monday.

The nation's economic house is on fire and this fire must be put out.

I appreciate that most of those opposed to the measure have misgivings of various kinds, but it is simply not enough to complain from the sidelines about the actions of others.

If you disagree with this bailout measure, do your homework and propose a robust alternative.
I am fortunate in that I am not deeply invested financially in the current crisis. I have no mortgage or auto loans that I am paying off. Nonetheless, I am affected like most others I know. I have seen my own retirement savings shrink from 20 percent to 25 percent in the past 12 months.

The time to act is now before things get worse. Not doing so would be simply irresponsible.
-- Craig Hoppler, Federal Way

Bail yourselves out, Wall Street
Where is it written that the poor will bear the financial mistakes of the rich?

What I hear is that the people dreaming up these exotic investment packages have steered Wall Street to the edge of the abyss.

Are we really in the same situation as they would have us believe? Consequences will be thrown out the window and bad behavior will be rewarded with tax dollars; how nice not to have to be accountable to your constituents.

Where have truth, honesty, dignity and pride in hard work gone?

The IRS doesn't accept wooden nickels from taxpayers, nor my mortgage company any excuses.

My hope is that cooler heads prevail and someone can explain why the money appropriated from this bailout proposal is the only solution. Why can't those who got themselves into this mess borrow the money from another willing lender, like anyone else would?
-- Gregory Dean, Whidbey Island

Kill the politics; fix the problem
What members of the House and citizens who oppose the bailout bill need know is this: When lines of credit fail, as they are doing now, businesses can't operate the way they need to; orders don't get placed; and bills don't get paid. This leads to payrolls that don't get made and jobs that are lost.

I have heard my parents' and grandparents' stories of the Great Depression. There is a time for politics and it is not now.

Every congressperson who voted against the bailout should be ashamed for putting politics above the preservation of our nation's basic financial infrastructure.
-- Linda Atkins, Enumclaw

Associated Press

Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange floor.

What about protection for taxpayers?
If what I am reading in today's papers is correct, there are more than a few things wrong about the taxpayer bailout plan. ["For outraged public, it's a matter of distrust," Times, page one, Sept. 30].

There should be sensible regulation. Currently there are no requirements for re-regulating the banking system and no listing of no-brainer reforms such as extending limits on capital and leverage to the shadow banking system.

A bailout that rescues Wall Street without re-regulation is a fool's errand. If the bankers think their losses are covered and no limits are put on their gambles, they will soon be taking even greater risks. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants the bailout now and regulation later. But when Wall Street is back on its feet, its lobby will fight relentlessly against regulation.

There should also be help for the economy off Wall Street. It is simply perverse that the president argues we need $700 billion tomorrow to save the banks but that it is "premature" to have another stimulus program for the real economy.

Layoffs are accelerating. States and localities are about to cut back on police, health care, schools and construction projects. We should be investing major sums in the real economy to put people back to work. If the recession worsens, the balance sheet of banks will worsen as more people default on credit card, auto and consumer loans.

The final piece missing in the current plan is the logical authority to allow bankruptcy courts to work out mortgages. This would require modifications on mortgages that are picked up in the bailout. I'd like to see more protection for the taxpayers in this bill.

Why aren't the Democrats in Washington, D.C., doing more to have better protections in this bailout?
-- Don Burch, Seattle

Take responsibility, taxpayers
I am adamantly opposed to any government action that would alleviate the consequences for lenders or borrowers who have made reckless and irresponsible financial decisions related to home mortgages or other means of credit.

While I understand the consequences of a recession and subsequent reductions in the availability of credit, I will not condone the use of hard-earned and promptly paid tax dollars to assist companies and executives who have profited in the near term. Nor do I feel sympathy for individuals who have lived a lifestyle beyond their means or failed to expend the necessary time and energy to understand their mortgage and credit obligations.

I don't pass judgment on people with different spending and saving priorities, but I also think that it is extremely unjust to reward them for their decisions with money I've paid in taxes above and beyond my own saving and investment strategies.

I urge our political representatives to find market-based alternatives to the current financial crisis or at the very least structure government intervention to minimize the burden on taxpayers, provide strong oversight in financial markets going forward and to hold the companies and individuals responsible for contributing to their own hardships.
-- Ben Johnson, Seattle

Close the markets
I completely oppose Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's bailout plan and clone proposals to resolve the current crisis in the banking industry. Instead, I support alternative solutions including the guidelines of transparency and oversight. It is time to rely on the advice of economists, not financiers.

The Bush administration refuses to regulate or insist upon transparency of transactions, uses the current liquidity crisis for political purposes and is demonstrating failure through a treasury power grab resulting in "economic martial law."

Solutions must include congressional intervention. This would require calming the markets with a temporary closing. The plan should insist upon U.S. government-controlled interest in the investment market, complete transparency of ledgers, creating oversight regulation by separating commercial and investment functions of banking.

We learn from history; Congress must develop support for basic social infrastructure.

Shame is not part of my emotional glossary, but I am grateful my late mother, an accountant, is not alive to endure another economic meltdown due to the same power-scheme mentality.
-- Alice Dubiel, Seattle

Point the finger at yourself
In the muddle over the chaos in our economy many are pointing fingers at the current administration, Wall Street, banks and CEOs.

The slogans and signs advocating to "protect Main Street from Wall Street" are particularly ironic.

It seems we have forgotten that a share of the blame belongs to those on Main Street who "bought" houses with no down payment, lied on their loan applications and basically intended to get "something for nothing" by selling those houses at huge profits because the housing market was going to continue its upward spiral.
-- Diane Matlock, Seattle

No corporation left behind
Since the beginning of child-labor laws American leaders have understood that, if left to themselves, large American corporations act in the interest of the bottom line -- not the American public.

Unfortunately for American children, present-day lawmakers at the state and national levels suffered a memory lapse when they ushered in wide-sweeping standards and testing legislation in the forms of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) at the behest of none other than big business.

Perhaps the need for a "No Corporation Left Behind" bailout will nudge federal lawmakers to revisit business round-table propagated NCLB mandates. And perhaps the collapse of Washington Mutual will jar state leaders into remembering that Washington state big business has been the entity lobbying to maintain the collapsing WASL.
-- Juanita Doyon, Spanaway

What goes up must come down
My husband and I are both in our 60s with a moderately good income. We cannot find an affordable home on reasonable terms in this inflated market so we rent. We paid off our new van a year after buying it and I am still driving my 1998 Chevy. We have no debt and are building up modest savings for retirement someday. I am working on a master's degree, hoping that will allow me to work indefinitely so that my older husband can eventually retire.

My sister in rural Oklahoma, with severe asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and no health insurance, makes minimum wage doing phone work from home. In the winter she does the phone work from bed under three layers of blankets with a wood stove burning in the corner. She has discontinued her cable and garbage service, getting by with local TV, recycling and a burn barrel. She is independent and happy, and she somehow manages to pay her modest mortgage every month.

This is a description of middle-class Americans. We work hard and live within our means. We have no sympathy for people who thought they had to have more and more. I have even less sympathy for the greedy fools who enabled this behavior and are now hollering "uncle." I intensely disagree with those who think the rate of growth is the key indicator of a healthy society.

It's time to stop this craziness. $700 billion to bail out fools and greedy lenders? There are so many places where we could put this money and have more important long-term benefits for everyone.
Our education and health systems are in shambles. Some law-enforcement agencies are so squeezed on funding that they are laying off officers.

We're going to pay now or pay later. Kill this knee-jerk bill and find a solution that places the pain where it belongs and benefits everyone else.
-- Mary Ann Chapman, Seattle

Outsourcing hurts everybody
I am an engineer at Boeing, in the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, and I support the International Association of Machinists' position of wanting to keep jobs at home as much as possible ["Simmering strike scorching both sides," Times, page one, Sept. 29].

We all understand that some jobs are going to leave the United States because of sales contracts, but it doesn't have to be as rampant as Boeing is allowing it to be. The fact of the matter is, Boeing sees a short-term gain by outsourcing work. However, in the long term, it's not going to be good for business.

The IAM -- and SPEEA, too -- is concerned about the long-term viability of this business. We want to continue to have jobs long into the future. We want Boeing to be successful, otherwise we'll all lose our jobs, union and non-union alike. But it is the unions that stand up and say, "This isn't the smartest business move, and we're so angry about it, we're going on strike."

Call it tough-love taken to the extreme, but it is necessary. The more jobs are outsourced, the more the talent on the home front dwindles. There are distinct advantages in having the building and design work done in proximity: We engineers can walk to the factory and look at what results from our designs and what we need to do to make it better, more efficient and more practical for maintenance when the customer receives the product, etc.

The scary thing here is, it almost seems like Boeing doesn't want to build airplanes anymore. It's like they just want to take the big pieces from around the world and slap them together here. The machinists on strike don't think that's a good way to build an airplane, and they ought to know -- they've been building airplanes for years! And, pretty soon, Boeing's going to find out that the engineers agree.

Outsourcing hurts. It hurts employees and employers. Outsourcing hurts even more than a strike does.
-- Sophia Jones, Snohomish

Eliminate strikes
At what point does society say "enough!" to the Machinist union's legal extortion practices? What kind of society would we have if everyone could hold their company hostage if they didn't like how they were treated?

There are alternatives to a strike, but it doesn't appear that union leadership is too interested in pursuing these options. And, why not? Well, it's because they don't suffer during a strike -- unfortunately, everyone else does. When Boeing union members strike it hurts everyone: other Boeing employees, suppliers, local businesses, Boeing's reputation and profit margin and, most importantly, Boeing's customers, who don't have to buy Boeing products.

Let's eliminate strikes, keep the wheels on the bus turning and try to achieve workable solutions via mediation and binding arbitration. Or -- better yet -- if you don't like your job, find a better one.
-- Greg Kisinger, Renton

Changes could be positive
I read James Vesely's story today about letters to the editor and some opinions moving to an online location ["See you online Tuesday: The times are changing," editorial, Sept. 29]. While I appreciate the opportunities this will open up for people, I regret the changes taking place in print.

In any case, I hope the online developments will be easy to find, follow and interact with for those of us who do not spend a lot of time with this type of technology.

The main issue for me is changing my own habits and remembering to take the time to look at The Times online, which is something I rarely do.

Maybe you will gain new readers this way but I hope you don't lose many in the process.
-- Tamara Scarlett-Lyon, Seattle

Where did they go?
I've always found great value in the editorial pages of The Seattle Times; two, three or four op-ed pieces and a few letters -- great way to feed the mind, encourage thought and discussion.

Glad to know you'll be saving money. Haven't decided yet, but one-page editorial page is like Saturday, every day -- may not be taking the daily much longer.
I'll be missing freely shared ideas.
-- Catherine E. Hall, Seattle

Not quite the same
By moving the letters to the editor off the editorial page and on to the Web you have effectively removed one of the major reasons I read The Seattle Times: to get a daily overview with my morning coffee.

I am not likely to take the time to read letters on my computer as my mindset and focus is entirely different when I'm online.
-- Warren Keuffel, Anacortes

Bring back print
In Sunday's Times you told us about your new idea to put most of the editorial section online during the week.

Recently subscription holders were told that regular subscription and daily newspaper rates were going up. We are now getting less printed news information for more money.

What about the population of older people who have not mastered computer skills, don't have time and do not feel comfortable reading their news on a computer screen with their coffee and breakfast perched in front of them.

-- Bjorn and Gail Sorensen, Issaquah