This page was last updated on December 27, 2010.
Put the blame where it belongs; Thomas M. Finch; Beaver County Times; December 26, 2010.
Mr. Finch’s letters never disappoint. As usual, his letter is little more than a string of leftist talking points. It’s at least the 26th anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican letter from Mr. Finch since December 2004. Here is one example. I wish he could get a regular column in the Times. I also wish he could get at least five minutes per day on a local radio and/or TV station.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Although Dan Reeping’s letter of Dec. 19 may have been amusing to his fellow neo-con, Bush-backer Republicans and assorted Tea Party extremists, I found it to be insulting and derisive - just another smear job against Democrats.”
[RWC] This is at least the seventh time since 2005 Mr. Finch has written a letter responding to a Reeping letter. Previous examples are here, here, here, and here, plus two [“Obama’s critics are void of better ideas” (7/11/09) and “Proud to be a Democrat” (8/5/07)] I didn’t critique and are no longer on the Times website. Once again we have a duel of knucklehead letters.
Given Mr. Finch’s letter-writing body of work, you have to get a kick out of him complaining about another person’s letter being “insulting and derisive” and a “smear job.”
As I’ve written before, Mr. Finch likes to use the term “neo-con,” but he never defines it for us.
“While I appreciate Reeping’s efforts to give us a literate analogy, his letter - like Dickens’ original writing about Scrooge - is a work of fiction.
“Democrats shouldn’t be blamed for Scrooge laying off Bob Cratchit. In order to make Reeping’s analogy factual, we need to blame greedy Scrooge - and his Republican business cronies - for outsourcing Cratchit’s job to China to increase personal profit margins. Let’s make sure the rich get richer - and to the devil with everyone else.”
[RWC] I believe Mr. Finch meant offshoring, not “outsourcing.” Outsourcing is when a business contracts with another business to perform some functions. For example, a business may contract with a janitorial business for cleaning services instead of doing the cleaning with its own employees.
The idea only “Republican business cronies” participate in offshoring is a recurring position by Mr. Finch. Back in 2007, Mr. Finch wrote, the Bush administration “outsources decent jobs that could get people off welfare so Republican-sponsored corporate America can realize bigger profits.” I love how folks like Mr. Finch push the idea Republicans and big businesses are synonymous. Has Mr. Finch heard of George Soros, Peter Lewis (Progressive Insurance), Jon Corzine (former U.S. senator, former NJ governor, and former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs), Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Rahm Emanuel (Mr. Obama’s former Chief of Staff), and on and on? Remember, the feds and labor unions now control and own big chunks of Chrysler and GM. Did I miss the press releases telling us Chrysler and GM were closing foreign plants and relocating their production to the U.S.?
Regardless of who controls a company, businesses have a fiduciary responsibility to their owners (including you, me, and pension funds). This is true even for not-for-profit businesses. Businesses make the decisions they need to in order to survive and succeed. Otherwise, they close up shop and/or go into bankruptcy. Unlike the federal government, businesses can’t print money. Would Mr. Finch prefer businesses continue to operate in the U.S. until they (we shareholders) go bust? Let’s say Mr. Finch owns and/or runs a company with 1,000 domestic employees and despite his best efforts it’s about to go under. Let’s also say offshoring the jobs of 100 employees would save the other 900 jobs. What would Mr. Finch do? Let’s say Mr. Finch’s business uses steel to manufacture its products but can no longer compete using U.S.-produced steel. Would Mr. Finch put his 1,000 employees out of work instead of buying less expensive foreign steel, possibly resulting in a loss of jobs at the domestic steel supplier?
Regarding the “rich get richer” comment, I get a kick out of folks who would like us to believe Democrats are poor and Republicans are rich. Of the top 10 wealthiest members of the House, five are Democrats [including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) at #6] and five are Republicans. Of the top 10 wealthiest members of the Senate, the top six are Democrats and the remaining four are Republicans. Democrats were seven of the top 10 until Edward Kennedy (MA) died in 2009. Perhaps being wealthy is bad only if you’re a Republican.
“If you still think Reeping’s letter makes sense, check out all your gifts from Christmas morning. Pay attention to where they were made. Next year, send Reeping and your new Republican elected officials (Toomey and Corbett) Christmas cards printed in Chinese - and don’t blame Democrats.”
[RWC] “Don’t blame Democrats?” Messrs. Corbett and Toomey won in Beaver County despite a nearly 2:1 Democrat voter registration advantage. In other words, quite a few Beaver County Democrats appear to disagree with Mr. Finch’s positions and voted for Messrs. Corbett and Toomey. Mr. Finch seems to forget Democrats are still the majority in the Senate and there’s a Democrat in the White House.
You’ll note Mr. Finch doesn’t tell us what Democrat politicians have done to stop jobs from moving offshore and the outcome of those actions.
“I find it ironic that a letter is published that insults half of Beaver County, and then still wishes us a ‘Merry Christmas.’ In that context, it was hollow and mindless sentiments.”
[RWC] Based on voter registration data at the time of the 2010 primary election, Mr. Reeping “insulted” about 66% of Beaver County, not “half.” Mr. Finch “insults” about 34% of Beaver County. <g>
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