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6A – Daily News – Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Opinion D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Ignoring facts in laying blame Editor: Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer’s home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 The currency bubble Commentary One of the bigger obstacles to the US economy gaining sub- stantial numbers of jobs is the battle over valuation of currency among different nations. The amount a currency is valued at is largely tied to the strength of their economy but it’s possible for individual countries to manipulate the pricing in either direction so that they can gain an advantage on the international markets when exporting their own goods and services. There’s still a certain amount of balance that generally has to be maintained in order to avoid inflation as well as a recession but in times of international eco- nomic crises where things are already off kilter, like the Great Recession that’s been rippling through countries, it’s possible for a country to work their advantage. Currently, China’s yuan is seen as greatly undervalued at least since the beginning of 2008, which has given them a significant advantage in the export of goods and services. Made in China has lead to a trade imbalance and the US owing China billions of dollars, which can make foreign policy a little trickier. It’s hard to press a controversial point home to someone who’s holding all of your chits. According to the US Census, the US international trade deficit in goods and services decreased to $37.3 billion in January from $39.9 billion in December, and even better news, our imports decreased more than our exports. That means we sold a little more and we bought a little less. However, the report also showed that when it came to China the opposite was true. The goods deficit increased from $18.1 billion to $18.3 billion increasing the trade imbalance and our bill. There are two ways to approach any market when it comes to pricing and making money. Either a price can be set higher and an established quali- ty will be what drives the market to want the goods or the price can be set so competitively that the market buys the goods based primarily on low cost. Think of it as Tiffany’s jewel- ry counter versus Wal-Mart’s. While Tiffany’s little blue box ensures a certain cachet and quality and the prices can make most shoppers gasp, there are still enough shoppers. Wal-Mart does a bigger volume in jewelry sales but at a much lower price point. Both stores win because they’re appealing to different markets. However, when it comes to the world of imports and exports it’s pricing that trumps and can mean the difference of billions of dollars and thousands of new jobs. It was established awhile ago that Americans buy mostly on the basis of price rather than quality. But when we get something at a really low price, we still end up paying for it with a stalled economy. It’s not possible to keep buying on the cheap without any kind of consequence. As China started to develop a more com- mercial economy they began by developing foreign sources, such as the US who already had the means to pay for goods and ser- vices, rather than pour all of their time and efforts into strengthening domestic growth. Then, when the recession started and households had to make their money stretch further, China was able to take advan- tage of their established markets and push price and volume over quality till they became the largest player on the block. That is now costing Ameri- can jobs and slowing down our recovery. The European market and the euro is having its own crisis and has had to come to the rescue of individual countries, most prominently Greece, in Martha Randolph Carr order to avoid a sudden decline in the valuation of the euro. Greece’s economic instability is another potential bubble in a general recovery and some believe the recent deal struck with the International Monetary Fund is not enough to stave off collapse. That could devastate our exports if the European market were to severe- ly contract. President Obama recently said in his January State of the Union address that he wanted to see US exports double in five years. It would have a tremendous impact on the employment rate in our country and have a positive impact on our economy that would be lasting and spread out to the general economy. In order to do that, the administration is going to have to negotiate with China and show them why it is to their advantage to also try to build a domestic market for their own goods. However, without a democratic push in a country without voters pushing for a better quality of life it may be a hard sell. Email Martha at: Martha@caglecartoons.com. In response to syndicated columnist Tina Dupuy. Your commentary in the Daily News on April 8 titled “Trust in the GOP’s dearth of experience” blames the GOP and Bush for the nation’s eco- nomic problems. You fail to mention that your Democrats controlled Congress for the last two years of the Bush adminis- tration and for the 15 months of this Obama administration. True, Bush did overspend but he was a piker compared to Obama and company. You are either ignoring, lying or just ignorant of what is happening with this Obama administration. Tina, how about a little inves- tigative journalism with honesty and pass it along to the Daily News editor. He could use the education. Gale Gilbert, Red Bluff Response to Mayor Strack Editor: I wish to comment on the recent letter to the editor by Corning Mayor Gary Strack. The mayor says he wants to apologize to the individuals who applied for appointment to the City Council. The mayor stated, "they were treated rude- ly." I was in attendance at that meeting, and I neither saw nor heard anything that could be considered "rude treatment" toward the applicants. To veri- fy this, I accessed the city's Web site and played back the audio recording of the meet- ing. The only rudeness was the mayor's comments to the two councilmen who did not vote the way the mayor wished. It was perfectly reasonable that the council did not agree with mayor's recommendation to place back on the council, a former member who had been voted out of office by the vot- ers at the last election. As I understood the position of the councilperson — with whom the mayor seems to be so upset — he merely suggest- ed the matter be placed on the council's agenda. This would provide an opportunity for the council to make a decision as to the procedure the council majority wanted to follow. The motion to appoint failed to receive the required majori- ty. Under the rules, when this occurs, the selection method is to call a special election, which will be held in connection with the next general election. This action is in compliance with the city's procedures for meet- ings. It appears the mayor would like to avoid that event. I wonder why? The mayor appears upset that Councilman Turner, "did not give any reason for his change of mind." There was no change of mind, Councilman Turner had never taken a position. He simply asked the issue be placed on the agenda so it could be properly dealt with. In addition, as the mayor well knows, the City Procedures states, "A council member is never required to state a reason for a dissenting vote." Your Turn was made by Mayor Strack and the then, existing council members. Mr. Leach had noth- ing to do with that decision. In spite of the mayor's gloom and doom outlook for the city during the next sever- al months, I have a lot more confidence in the ability of our four- person council to make the tough decisions which will arise in the next few months. The mayor complains that Councilmen Leach and Turner were the only two city employ- ees who did not take the pay cut that all city employees were asked to take. One would think the mayor would by now know that they are elected offi- cials, not city employees. The mayor suggests that Councilman Leach was appointed to the council some years ago and now says that's not a good way to get on the council. Councilman Leach did not make such a statement. He commented that he thought the better way was to let the voters decide who should be on the council. It was not Mr. Leach who made the decision several years ago to appoint someone to the council. That decision The mayor suggests that Councilmen Leach and Turner "and the group that supports them dislike (City Manager Steve) Kimbrough enough to place Corning in such disar- ray." I heard absolutely no dis- cussion of the city manager during the meeting. Any disar- ray that exists in the city is the result of decisions of the majority of the council, prior to this matter. I have full confidence the two councilmen the mayor is so concerned about will stand up and be counted when it comes to making the tough decisions. The mayor has an opportunity to exercise his leadership skills to bring to pass the proper deci- sions necessary in the next few months. We shall see. W.L. "Bucky" Bowen, Corning Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 4164 P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento 94249; (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319- 2102 STATE SENATOR — Sam Aanestad (R), State Capitol Bldg., Room 2054, Sacramen- to, CA 95814. (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2635 Forest Ave. Ste. 100, Chico, CA 95928; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 403-0100. Fax (202) 224- 0454.