Our economy started with lowly paid laborers

Editor,

First to Mr. Bushnell, I absolve you of all blame regarding the condo project I spoke of in my last letter. The Lake County Firsters who were here at that time were the ones I was speaking to and only to make a larger point about hypocrisy.

This great country was largely built on the backs of poorly paid immigrant labor. The international labor force that Wal-Mart buys many of its products from is evolving just as our labor force evolved into the modern dynamic American economy of today.

As this international labor force gradually improves its consumption capability, it will become an ever larger target for American manufacturers to cater to. The point is: These foreign laborers have to start somewhere, however imperfect, in their fledgling march toward economic parity, just as our immigrant laborers did. Wal-Mart and other large American chains are a significant part of this process.

In the case of China, the economic ties we are forging with them, partly because of Wal-Mart, makes it far more likely that a democratic China will eventually emerge and far less likely that we will ever have a war with them.

Points about macro-economics lead to the bigger issue, which is that this is the 21st Century, globalization is here and it's the wave of the future.

As Lake County grows to at least 40,000 people in the next 10 to 15 years, are the Lake County Firsters going to be like the Dutch boy with fingers in the dike trying to fend off all efforts to significantly improve our shopping opportunities? I sure hope not.

I further hope if a clear majority of consumers in Lake County are shown to want the new Supercenter that Lake County First will refrain from litigation, step aside gracefully, and let it happen. They will harvest a whole lot of good will if they do.

Before I sign off, I want to thank Paul Fugleberg for his wonderfully written Christmas column.

Virgil Hess

Polson