How to lose jobs

To the editor:

For those in favor of a living wage, first check your cars, stereos and appliances. Chances are you’ll find most of them are built in foreign countries with half the wages we pay our workers. If you’re genuinely interested in supporting better wages the first thing you can do is buy “American-made” products.

Our trade imbalance continues to grow by billions each month, and our hunger for foreign products has resulted in more lost jobs and more job placements in foreign countries. It’s called “outsourcing.”

Want to lose more Lawrence jobs? Then continue pushing this “living wage” idea. What new company in its right mind would bring new jobs to Lawrence when nonliving-wage communities are minutes nearby? Who is really hurt by a living wage? College students with part-time jobs, retired folks on fixed incomes and independent retailers, such as those on Massachusetts Street. Their primary advantage over the big chains is individualized personal service. Competing for $10-per-hour labor will result in job cuts, higher prices or both. Or, they will simply go out of business.

Maybe we should let our free enterprise system continue to work. If you want higher wages, change jobs, get a new skill or get a better education. With low inflation, low interest rates and a 94 percent employment rate, America is still the envy of the world.

Larry Agan,

Lawrence