To the editor:
Michael Hicks’ column regarding trade with China was eye-opening in its bias and denial of obvious facts ("More presidential trade confusion," July 16, Page A6). He stated a trade deficit does not affect our GNP, and more absurdly, that it doesn’t affect American jobs. Hicks assumes, as elitists tend to do, that he knows which jobs are best for Americans, and which should be done by lesser-skilled foreigners. This is the exact attitude we saw for eight years with the Obama/Biden administration, when we saw thousands of factories close, and millions of jobs vanish and go overseas. Hicks should ask those workers if foreign trade affects their livelihood, their lives.
Trump applied visa restrictions on Chinese students for the simple reason they were stealing intellectual property and sending it back to China, which has been ongoing for decades. This intellectual property theft constitutes one of the greatest transfers of wealth from one country to another in history. Hicks was correct in saying the visa restrictions will reduce our export of "services," as he refers to the stolen intellectual property, and it’s about time. It is sad to see leftist bias such as that held by Hicks being foisted onto our students at Ball State.
Trump was, and is, correct in taking a hard line against China, as the damage done by the Obama/Biden administration was massive. The trade imbalance is getting better, not worse as Hicks claims, and we certainly do not need another leftist president allowing the Chinese to once again be allowed to steal us blind. Biden is a big pal of China, as is his son who gets a lot of money from them. China is our enemy, and Trump sees this clearly, while Biden will have them eating our lunch again if he is allowed.
Tim McDowell
Greenfield
