A global America

FAREED ZAKARIA has some things right [“Talking About What Ails America,” by Utku Cakirozer, May 23]. California is a “basket case.” But “blaming foreigners -- in the case of California, blaming Mexicans” isn’t a groundless connection.

The decline in the socioeconomics of this once great state can directly be attributed to our wonderful illegal “visitors” and the millions of their children given citizenship by accident of birth. The majority of whom just happen to be from Mexico.

From the collapse of older family neighborhoods into crime-invested boardinghouses, to schools so busy catering to teaching the Spanish-speaking population that English speakers are neglected, to overburdened human service organizations, these “foreigners” have a direct link to the destruction of this state, and it is unfortunate that Zakaria doesn’t see the connection and therefore cannot understand that the California of his childhood memories and the California that exists today are a direct result of his idealized “globalization.”

Judy McLaughlin

Simi Valley

THIS high-sounding analysis of global changes that have occurred and will continue to occur does not acknowledge primary economic problems such as the huge trade deficits with countries like China caused by American manufacturers moving their plants overseas and the resulting vast numbers of higher-paying American manufacturing jobs that have been lost to overseas manufacturing facilities.

It is one thing to adopt a sweeping, historical, altruistic, theoretical and even resigned attitude toward the effects of globalization that help countries like China and India while hurting America.

It is a totally different thing to put America’s interests first by establishing fair systems to keep America at the forefront of globalization.

China and India and other countries are not shy when it comes to capitalizing on the changes taking place and benefiting from them.

What America needs is not more theories and generalizations but rather national and international actions by the Congress and next administration that will help restore America’s preeminence and prevent its further decline in the inevitably widening effects of the new global economy.

Sam McCarver

San Juan Capistrano