​     You may have heard that the major producer of pork products, Smithfield Foods, has been sold to a Chinese business group for a total of $7 billion in projected bank-funded loans. The company employs 10,000 North Carolina workers in several N.C. locations including TarHeel, Kinston, Wilson and Rose Hill. What is next on the horizon for North Carolina as it struggles to continue to lead the way in producing goods for the state, the U.S. and the world?

     As one of the largest employers in North Carolina, this should raise concerns for us as citizens of the state. Why? Because the control of this very important company will now go to individuals and entities located (and more importantly, from) outside the United States of America. They will no longer be "ours."

     We have seen the decline--to almost nothing--of the textile industry in North Carolina. The huge Cannon Mills was imploded. Ironically enough, just in front of that plant location stands the Kannapolis Public Library, within whose archival room is contained a glass case. IN THAT CASE LIES A PEN USED TO SIGN INTO LAW BY THEN PRESIDENT LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON A LAW GUARANTEED TO PROTECT U.S. WORKERS FROM UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM OVERSEAS COMPANIES. Yes, it's true.

      A man came to my door one day saying he lived in Gaston County and had worked for Parkdale Mills for 17 years before being fired. He said he was a skilled worker, working on machinery there, when he had been asked to train visitors from South of the Border to work on machines. He refused and also refused to learn Spanish, he said. He was fired. Not long afterwards, Parkdale Mills (2 plants, he said) was closed, and he was seeking work cutting brush for $50 to eat. He was skinny.

     The furniture industry in North Carolina has taken hits, also, from cheaply-made furniture from India, for example. Burlington Coat Factory sports a line called "Bombay, India" in their local stores. The tobacco industry near Charlotte has gone by the wayside as Phillip Morris closed its huge plant.

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      WE  HAVE  BEEN  TOLD  THAT  WE  NO  LONGER  NEED  FACTORY  JOBS  IN  AMERICA. It seems then that we are to be a service nation. HIGH TECH, HIGH PAYING JOBS ARE WHAT'S NEEDED, we are told. Sounds fine, doesn't it, but what if we can't pay in the future for basic items of necessity which have risen in price so high that we can no longer afford them? WHAT IS TO KEEP THOSE WHO CONTROL PRODUCTION FROM RAISING PRICES AS LONG AS DEMAND SATISFIES THEIR BUDGETS?........................ N O T H I N G. The first law of economics is that as long as someone will pay for it, I will sell it at that price. If that person needs it badly enough and the demand goes up, then the price goes up, also. Who cannot need the basic necessities of life even more than fine technology? No one.

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     It seems very dangerous to let overseas companies buy ours. Just as bad or even worse is the horrible problem of TARIFFS that are not high enough to keep out the importing of other countries goods. They don't have to pay high business taxes there, have licensing, pay worker's compensation, pay for insurance, file quarterly taxes with social security.....on and on and on. Do they employ children? It seems all right to let them follow their own standards for they may have needs we don't have in the U.S. However, if they use children, for example, can a U.S. company do that? No. That means that our companies fail in competition to theirs. You say--why worry? The goods are cheaper that way. If we don't protect our local industries and remain a strong producer, ALL OUR  MONEY  IS  SIMPLY  GOING  OVERSEAS  TO  OTHER PLACES. ​

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