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Make America great again?

There are four components necessary to having a great nation. 1. God. 2. Agriculture. 3. Industry. 4. Business. Remove the first part of this equation and the rest follows suit.

As a nation we started losing ground back in the 50s. First it was our iron ore which fell to Japan’s ore industry. Then it was the electronics: TVs, radios and stereos. You no longer hear these names — RCA, Zenith, Magnavox, Sylvania, Philco, etc.

Next it was foreign cars on our streets and our car manufacturers were sending work to Canada and Mexico. Oh great!

Meanwhile those in other manufacturing jobs were saying “Oh it won’t affect my job” — Wanna bet? The shoe manufacturers began to go and then the soft goods industry was not far behind.

The old saying was “If it’s foreign made it can be produced cheaper and save the retail stores.” That was the biggest lie to ever come down the “Pike.”

I worked for a local garment company and in the late 60s, I saw the store chains begin to fold. It started in the Northeast with Kings & Mammoth Mart, and proceeded down the East Coast. Next it was Zale Corp & Zayre, Hills Department Stores, Ames, Big N, WT Grant, Montgomery Ward, etc.

We have lost our weaving mills such as Waverly, Springs and Cannon to foreign countries. The names are the same but the quality is not. Items are produced at a cheaper rate and the quality is also cheap!

These losses affected the revenue to this great country. Manufacturers and businesses all pay taxes, as well as the employees. No revenue — no government. A country cannot exist on menial tariffs. Therefore we slit our own financial throats.

It disturbs me to realize my parents, grand and great-grandparents put these businesses on the “Business Map” and the loss of these industrial jobs is a stab in the back to their descendants.

So make America great again? I only wish it were possible. Unfortunately I feel we’ve gone too far to recover and it saddens me as I’m sure it does many of you. We remember when our country was great.

Jane Cupp

Cogan Station

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