Brian Gaines states that he believes that "STEM-based manufacturers represent the same gateway to economic opportunity for many Marylanders" as Bethlehem Steel did to past generations ("Md.'s new manufacturing," Feb. 12). While I would not argue against expanding our "21st century" manufacturing base and training our populace to fill those jobs, I do not believe that technology jobs alone can build and sustain a great middle class the way jobs at "iconic manufacturers" like Beth Steel did.
One problem with Mr. Gaines' future is that Marylanders will be trained and prepared for the high-tech job market at colleges and technology schools presumably at taxpayer expense whereas at the old Beth Steel plant, countless people found entry-level employment with little or no experience and were trained for advancement by the company.
Marylanders are being sold a bill of goods in our debate over manufacturing jobs. We are offered an either-or situation. We are told that all the old style jobs, like at Beth Steel, are gone and never coming back. It is proclaimed that our only hope is to get our workforce ready for the jobs of the future or else we will forever lag behind.
But those choices always leave me wondering if the people who fill the massive factories in China making our electronic gadgets are all highly educated and certified. I suspect they are not. The fact is that as long as U.S. corporations believe paying very low wages to an overseas workforce in order to reap extreme profits for CEOs and stockholders in America is preferable to providing jobs at home, then I doubt that the STEM-based industry is going to fill the void.
I would suggest to Mr. Gaines and others that our state do both: Win back our old manufacturing base and establish a strong foundation where jobs of the future can be created and flourish. I would argue that when Marylanders stop needing products like refrigerators, television sets, automobiles and laptop computers, then that will be when we can stop trying to win the fight for the jobs that produce those items.
Sean Tully, Baltimore