Republican Sen. Joe Pittman’s op-ed “You can’t have family-sustaining jobs without employers” (Aug 13, TribLIVE) is typical Republican doublespeak and a race to the bottom. Tax give-aways to big corporations and failure to increase the minimum wage are what got us into the situation we are in today. Our middle-class wealth has been redistributed upward to a corrupt few, causing inequality to reach all-time highs. Trickle-down did not work in the last century, and it won’t work in this one.
It does not need to be this way. Pennsylvania has many advantages, many resources. We do not have to offer out-of-state, multinational companies sweetheart deals to create jobs, employers whose only interest in Pennsylvania is to extract our natural resources, take the profits out of state and leave us with a mess to clean up. Instead, the state should nurture homegrown start-ups. We should look for companies who do not price gouge their customers, who pay their employees a living wage, who are good stewards of our community and environment and who pay their fair share of taxes.
We need companies that are good neighbors — employers who aren’t solely concerned with profits.
Michael Garing
North Huntingdon