Remarks About U.S. Workers

The Japanese are pushing their luck with the American public. As the wife of a man who works seven days a week to support his family and to support my attending college in order to gain access to opportunities to make a decent wage, I find the recent comments by Japanese political and economic leaders insulting.

The problem does not lie in the work ethic of the average American, it lies in the political and economic system that is defeating the morale of the American worker by making it impossible to get ahead while trying to keep afloat financially. When people realize that all of their efforts can’t even afford them the simple dream of owning a home, being able to afford medical care, preparing for their old age and providing their children with a college education, the effects of that realization are devastating to their motivation and enthusiasm.

I only hope that we wise up before that happens. Maybe the Japanese are doing us a favor by bashing our work ethic so publicly. Maybe it will motivate us to prove them wrong.

JANET O’RONA, Orange