When I saw that your article (PA is losing people, 8/2/26, triblive) was written by someone from George Mason University, I knew what to expect, and the article did not disappoint. It repeated the same old, tired, failed policies from the radical right that put us in the mess we are in today. As a slogan, right-to-work sounds wonderful, but in fact it is a disaster for the working person. 

 

Most workers have experienced wage stagnation for decades as corporations keep moving jobs to low-wage areas overseas. As the working man struggles to maintain a decent standard of living, corporations are recording astronomical profits. Offshoring jobs has doubled corporate profit margins. Profits have also increased due to the Trump tax cuts. The corporate tax rate went from 22% to 25% to 12% to 14%, a decline of 40% to 50%. 

 

Additional factors in the rise of corporate profits include the growth of monopolies, which give companies the ability to price-gouge American consumers, and the Federal Reserve's low interest rates, which reduce corporate debt and leave a larger share of corporate income as profit. (raising interest rates would reduce inflation) Taken together, these factors have contributed to a massive increase in U.S. corporate profits, from approximately $500 to $800 billion annually in 2000 to approximately $3.8 to $4.4 trillion in the mid-2020s, resulting in a 760% increase in a short period of time.

 

In my opinion, it is not the workers who caused the hollowing out of Pennsylvania but corporations, with an assist from our federal government

                                                                              Joanne Garing

 

​