Don't put in rail line for China goods

In regard to the proposed railroad corridors in the Yuma area, I would like to mention some things that I feel need to be considered.

I feel any way we can enhance the betterment of our community for jobs, tourism, transportation or whatever is a benefit to the well-being of Yuma, I am for. However, I am not in any way for putting a rail line into Mexico so we can transport more Chinese goods into this country.

Remember the goods that we made and exported, goods that kept millions of people working every day and goods that we could buy and be assured they would last for many years at a decent price? We now have lowered our standards on goods we buy from China and just hope they will last at least until the warranty runs out.

We have hundreds of factories sitting idle now — in my hometown there are about seven. They wanted cheap labor, so they moved to China. Factories that were successful for over 100 years are now gone and that is their thanks to the people who put them into business and kept them there.

In 2006 when this came up about running a rail line to Punta Colonet in Mexico, they said about 17,000 containers a day will come through Yuma. These containers will travel on to other areas of the country for sure. Is common sense again being discarded for greed and the almighty dollar? That almighty dollar mainly goes to China.

Maybe you should look up the rail system in China, a rail system that our money built from the goods we buy from them. We once had a excellent rail system for travel, but look what we have now, a broken Amtrak.

China is communist and I guess the people at the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization have not realized that communism and capitalism are like mixing oil and water — it doesn't mix! However, the Chinese are using our capitalistic system to get the money they need to promote communism.

I have heard China is now bringing in construction companies to build bridges and highways in the U.S. while our people in construction are out of work. China wants areas of 50 square miles to put in industrial sites. They will employ hundreds of Chinese and a few Americans. Does China employ hundreds of Americans and few Chinese? And they reportedly want these areas close to military bases — why?

Our country was built and became the greatest nation in the world and we exported our goods which kept our people working and building a strong nation. Now we have millions of unemployed people because leaders we once trusted allowed the scene to reverse and made us dependent on nations that want to overthrow our form of government.

I have not heard just what and how many jobs this rail corridor is going to bring into the area and what it will cost. What has this study cost us already? Common sense sometimes overpowers all the studies in the world.

I could give you a long list of American-made products still available that are cheaper than the Chinese equivalent.

If we let this railroad go to Mexico, we will not only provide the rope to hang us, we will also put the rope around our necks. Do not sell us on the idea it is to bring produce in. I pray the people of Yuma for once put a stop to it.

Jim Kindle

Yuma