Finding common ground

Michael Jenson had a good idea, but finding common ground or compromise is not going to be easy.

Basically we have a battle between labor unions and multinational corporations which has evolved in a Democrat vs. Republican conflict.

Labor unions are feeling the pressure since the Wisconsin governor severely curtailed collective bargaining and ended the automatic collection of union dues by the government resulting in a 50 percent loss of union members and a drop of unemployment to 6.7 percent vs. 8.2 percent. Then when the Indiana governor executed a similar reform seven years ago, union paying membership supposedly dropped 91 percent. Also the right to work states reportedly are gaining ground in economic expansion. Missouri now ranks 49th.

Labor unions may have to compromise to get jobs back in the United States. Finding common ground with the multinational corporations is not going to be easy. They have become so rich and powerful, the Republicans, trying to protect capitalism, can no longer control them. They must realize that continued unanimous support for the rich and the multinationals will soon result complete collapse of the stock market, banks and our government.

Our only hope is that, at election time, enough Republicans and independents will gather up enough votes, without the millionaire and billionaire plutocrats, to pass legislation to eliminate the loopholes and subsidies the multinationals now enjoy and place tariffs on products which could and should be produced in the United States.

JACK H. KNOWLAN SR., Jackson