Equal competition is the only fair way I am profoundly saddened by the Jan. 31 Minority Ownership special report in Plastics News.
More specifically, I own a mold shop and am tired of "giveaways" for minorities. After all, if any work were set aside for white men, no matter the percentage, minorities would be outraged.
Moreover, I would be outraged. We live in a free-market economy, and competition is the strength of the economy and the nation.
Equal should be equal. I want a fair chance to compete for jobs. Should I apologize for being white, having a strong work ethic and excelling in school? Should I apologize for believing in capitalism — the foundation of our country and its prosperity?
Set-aside programs are racist and prejudicial and have no place in a capitalist country. Of course I may be accused of being racist for wanting an equal opportunity.
Oh, by the way, I never owned a slave, my family never owned slaves. I owe minorities nothing.
If my company goes out of business, there is no "Big Three Safety Net" like some companies have used.
I find it ironic that the general press, who thrive because of the First Amendment, would be so caustic with the freedom of white businessmen.
Ken Kaercher
Adept Mold Inc.
Sterling Heights, Mich.
Why make a bottle that's not recyclable?
On Page 25 of your Jan. 10 issue, you ran an article by Joe Truini of Waste News titled "Bottle bill disturbs recyclers."
In that article, Phil Cavin of Mohawk Industries Inc. states: "I personally think it's insane to create a bottle bill for a bottle that has no market."
I live in Oregon where bottle bills and recycling have been a fact of life for 30 years. The main purpose of a bottle deposit is not to generate a product for the recycling industry, but to keep the highways free of litter and the landfills free of millions of empty containers.
The 5 cent or 10 cent deposit is just barely enough to keep most people from tossing the empty, or enough to make it worthwhile for others to gather those tossed empties. It is the responsibility of the producers to ensure that the packaging of their product is not a disposability problem. What was their motivation to choose a new bottle material that "has no market"?
I believe that Mr. Cavin has entirely missed the key point of a bottle-redemption bill, and his complaints are focused in the wrong direction.
The real insanity is to produce and use a bottle that can not be recycled.
Richard Perry
Williams Controls Industries Inc.
Portland, Ore.