Missouri right-to-work

I want to commend state Sen. Jason Crowell on his right-to-work proposal for Missouri. This is "one small step" in solving our complex economic problems.

All of our problems -- trade deficits, budget deficits, etc. -- go back to one thing, unemployment. And job losses go back to one thing: We have priced ourselves out of the market.

Our trade unions have increasingly demanded more. And corporate executives, with the help of our legislators, compensate themselves exorbitantly. This "trickles up" so that all the clerks, salesmen, lower management, etc. try to keep stride with the increasing pay scale.

I know that "doing with less" is a horrible thought, but with all the proposed spending cuts, unemployment is going to keep going up. If the unions are smart, they might be able to negotiate with corporate managers who have, or plan, to lay half of them off. They could offer to work for less in return for the managers agreeing to keep them all employed and reduce their outrageous compensation packages. This also might make the right-to-work law unnecessary.

We also have millions of outsourced service jobs. Lowering wages would get some of these jobs back. For reasons given, job creation grew 2.5 times faster in right-to-work states than states without right-to-work laws, 9.1 percent vs. 3.6 percent over a five-year period (U.S. Department of Labor).

I feel the law would be beneficial to the state of Missouri as well as the rest of the United States.

JACK H. KNOWLAN SR., Jackson