Letter: Outsourcing leads to U.S. economic downfall

To summarize what I found so startling; he said, "Those fireworks are transported legally, mostly from China.... Some San Bruno residents see irony in American fireworks originating overseas, but others are said it's just global economics ... Neither company manufactures fireworks they import and resell ... Dennis Revell, a spokesman for American Promotional Events, said he sees little irony in the origin of foreign fireworks, because so many other common items are made there ... You walk into any Sears, Wal-Mart or May Co., and you see many products from other countries. We're no different, he said."

Many products? I challenge you to walk into a Wal-Mart, and many other stores, and find anything made in this country. As long as people in this country want the cheapest possible price for goods and are not willing to pay enough for workers to make a living wage, we will see the continued downward trend of our country's economic status. Buying goods made in other countries provide profit for large multi-national corporations, as well as smaller companies such as the one importing the fireworks, who may care little about the working conditions of their workers, and certainly little about the destruction of our local economies. We must be willing to pay a bit more to buy from companies who treat their workers fairly, ideally that means buy union made. I fear it may already be too late to save most factory jobs in the country. I use to say buy American, buy union, and I have never been in a Wal-Mart. I have come to realize that since "global economics" are here to stay, we need to be supporting fair working conditions for labor all over the planet.

Sanda Everette

San Mateo