The Bay Bridge, made in China

Re "Bay Bridge decks made in up-and-comer China" (Page A1, June 26): The $400 million allegedly saved by having China build the eastern span of the Bay Bridge pales in comparison to the cost of years of delay from intercity wrangling and political dithering, and the unnecessary "signature" self-anchored suspension bridge.

California, with the most vigilant worker protection and environmental laws in the country, and high unemployment, ignores China's slave wages, the pollution from coal-fired plants needed to power the process, China's harsh restrictions on freedom, and its cyber-assaults on U.S. business and government.

Rather than take federal money that would assure U.S. manufacturing jobs, California and the contractor are willing to spend what I'd guess is at least $25 million a year for 250 people in China overseeing the work.

It is ironic that the "iconic" tower will be a symbol of our impotence, not competence. I can hardly wait for high-speed rail.

– Harvey Swenson, Sacramento

China's gain is California's loss

Great news – we bought bridge decks from China to save $400 million. The decks probably cost several billion dollars in total. If we bought those decks in the United States and California, they would have added seven times that much to our economy. To save $400 million, we gave the Chinese at least $7 billion to $10 billion in economic activity. Great call.

– Michael Horner, Woodland

Is bridge up to standards?

Couldn't Californians have built these parts so the money could have stayed in our state? Was the true financial impact determined before and not just given to the low bidder? How do we know the true quality of the Chinese product?

– Jim Meeter, Herald

'Slave' wages build bridge

How proud California must be of the wonderful new bridge being built in San Francisco on the backs of slave labor in China. The people building the bridge parts in China work 15 hours per day, seven days per week and are forced to live in company-owned dormitories. The companies building the bridge say they are saving millions of dollars by going to China. How much would it have boosted our economy to put Americans back to work on a project like this? Maybe a CEO might have had to give up a small portion of compensation, but my guess is that the benefits to our economy would have far outweighed his or her loss. How safe will you feel driving on a bridge partially built by workers forced to work under such conditions?

– Katy Pridy, Jackson

Failing on a moral obligation

Ironically, the original Bay Bridge was a project of the Public Works Administration to provide jobs for American workers then struggling with the Great Depression. To outsource this project to China at this time is unthinkable in light of the high levels of unemployment in our state.

Granted, it saves money, but unlike Chinese, American workers pay state and federal taxes, make house payments, and support American business as consumers. Aside from this, however, is the moral obligation that we have to provide jobs for Americans when possible, especially in the public works sector of the economy.

– Doris Concklin, Carmichael

China decision was unpatriotic

The state of California is unpatriotic and supports slave wages. The state allowed a company from China that paid one of its workers $12 a day to provide the decking for the Bay Bridge. The Chinese worker arrived at work at 7 a.m. and left at 11 p.m. There are unemployed people here who need the work.

California followed the rest of large American business that sent work overseas. This is unpatriotic. – Gregg Johnson, Antelope

California outsources pollution

How does outsourcing the manufacturing of steel decks to a country infamous for its pollution fit in with Assembly Bill 32, California's climate change law to reduce greenhouse gas? I'd guess that it wasn't even a consideration. While California manufacturers, what's left of them, struggle to comply with regulations implemented by the state, this state purchases hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Chinese-made steel decking. Do you think that China's mines, smelters and fabricators meet a fraction of California's ultra-strict environmental and worker safety standards? How large is the "carbon footprint" of the bunker oil-burning freighter ships used to transport the steel thousands of nautical miles across the ocean? State money is saved outsourcing to China but at what overall cost to the environment? In light of AB 32, this is the ultimate in hypocrisy.

– Scott Neville, Sacramento

Fingerprinting is a waste

Re "The fingerprint fraud" (California Forum, June 26): District Attorney Jan Scully brags about finding 120 cases of alleged In-Home Supportive Services fraud. But she fails to add that there are more than 12,000 IHSS recipients in Sacramento County.

That's a fraud rate of less than 1 percent. And the nearly $1 million she is targeting represents less than 2 percent of the county's IHSS budget.

Of course this comes as no surprise. After all, when former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the absurd and discredited claim of a 25 percent IHSS fraud rate in 2009, Scully was at his side.

Any fraud in IHSS or any other government program is wrong and should be investigated. But there are better ways to spend taxpayers' money than on a nonexistent IHSS fraud epidemic.

– Steve Mehlman, UDW Homecare Providers Union, Sacramento

School execs deserve pay

Re "School exec six-figure payouts rise" (Page A-1, June 26): The first paragraph states that "retired school administrators will earn more during retirement than most Californians will make during their working careers." A more reasonable comparison might be to compare these pensions to the average pension for California workers with seven to 10 years of higher education, to those with doctoral degrees, or to those executives who supervise hundreds of employees and are responsible for the lives of thousands of people, as are our public school administrators.

It might take real investigation to get that information. Do we really want our children to be taught by people with the education and salary of the average Californian?

– Steven Smith, Rocklin

The Texas miracle is a myth

Re "California vs. Texas: No contest" (Dan Walters, June 26): Dan Walters joins commentators swooning over Texas Gov. Rick Perry's job creation record, and laments that California isn't more like Texas. It's a sad superficial analysis, which indicates Walters can't be bothered to actually look into the numbers.

First, a large part of Texas' job growth since 2009 has happened poles apart: thousands of energy sector jobs and thousands of minimum-wage.

Second, Perry's dereliction of duty with the budget led to large deficits that will lead to major cuts in education.

Third, Texas already leads the country in the number of uninsured residents, even before the upcoming budget cuts.

Fourth, several industries under Perry's regime outright control the state government – guess which ones? Unlike Walters, I don't think that's a road map California should follow.

– Steve Soto, Sacramento

Take a look at Texas' numbers

Walters' recent column praising Texas for having lower unemployment than California is food for thought, if you don't think too much. Texas' oil industry is booming as oil prices linger near record highs, so unemployment is lower than in California. But is unemployment the only issue? Texas ranks 50th in percentage of population without health insurance, 45th in infectious diseases, 44th in children in poverty, 40th in overall health, 36th in high school graduation rate, 35th in crime.

It also ranks first in release of airborne carcinogens, fourth highest in toxic chemicals released into the environment, eighth highest in percentage of people below poverty level.

Walters does not mention that Texas' projected 2012 budget shortfall is 31.5 percent of its 2011 budget, vs. 29.3 percent for California, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Is Texas so admirable we can afford to ignore facts?

– Mark Dempsey, Orangevale

Texans get what they pay for

I am tired of reading thoughtful fretting about California's competitiveness compared with Texas. It's like Nordstrom worrying about its ability to compete with Wal-Mart.

Texas is cheap and easy, and you get what you pay for. In order to compete with Texas on price, California would have to become a place where most of us wouldn't want to live. I speak from experience. I moved here from Texas in 2007.

Texas' governor mocks us because he knows that regardless of our economy, regardless of our political dysfunction, this is still the place where everybody in the world dreams of living.

The only people who forget that fact are Californians. Buck up, stop complaining, and let's get back to leading the world.

– Andrew Sutton, Sacramento

Texas-sized budget deficits

Walters should look a little closer at the data on employment in Texas before he holds it up as some kind example that we in California should envy.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, jobs in the state grew at about the same rate under the previous Democratic governor. Texas did worse in job creation than Massachusetts between 2008 and 2010, according to Bloomberg. Texas tied with Mississippi for the greatest percentage of minimum wage jobs.

Add to this Texas has a budget deficit of $27 billion and the great state of Texas looks like the same old smoke and mirrors that has defined Republican economic policies for the last 30 years.

– Ralph W. Sullivan, Sacramento

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