To advance the cause of manufacturing, elect the right people.(Letterbox)

The interview of Rep. Brett Guthrie CA Metalcaster Goes to the Hill," July, p. 28) is an excellent piece of journalism. Guthrie is right on target with excellent business acumen. Unfortunately, legislators like him are few and far between.

Our country's survival as a capitalist system is at stake. Democracy can only prosper under a well educated, informed citizenry. We as an industry are wasting economic resources lobbying Washington legislators for legislation that supports manufacturing in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of all legislators have their minds made up on virtually all issues, and they vote the party line. The only thing that truly matters to most of the Washington politicians is getting re-elected and maintaining their power base.

If we as industry want to turn this country around, it will require a grass roots effort to get more people like Guthrie elected. To accomplish this, it is first necessary for all of us in manufacturing to come together with a strategic plan to get the right people elected. That means manufacturers need to lead the effort to get the majority of citizens in each state informed on the issues.

The Republican's one-sided mantra of cutting taxes to fix the economy falls on deaf ears. To get to where we need to go, we must convince the general public that only by increasing manufacturing of value-added products can America as a nation remain the best place on earth for freedom and economic opportunity.

To fix our economy, we must fix the trade imbalance. We need a majority of elected officials that will stop punishing U.S. manufacturing with taxes and onerous regulations and agree that we create jobs when we open up access to all of our energy resources.

We as an industry must first agree on the simple concept that all social programs should be paid for with a consumption tax rather than taxes that apply solely to goods produced by U.S. manufacturers. If you want to see metalcasting facilities running full bore once again, industry organizations should provide voluntary speakers at all schools and public events to extol the benefits of manufacturing. We must convince the public with an intense public relations effort funded by these organizations.

DON E. SANCHEZ, CEO

CHESAPEAKE SPECIALTY PRODUCTS INC.

BALTIMORE, MD.

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