To the editor: According to the Covington News, Newton County's unemployed are really in their unemployed dilemma through no fault but their own. But in reality, this whole education, training, lack of experience and skills narrative serves to sidetrack attention from the substantial shortage of jobs and corporate America's transgressions to ineffective teachers and supposedly under-educated workers. Fortunately, Governor Zell Miller made it possible for a technical school to be within 35 miles of each person's home. Are the taxpayers to believe that the technical school personnel have been inept also? As a community leader, it is my responsibility to put the blame where it justly belongs. Corporate America has failed to produce virtually any net gain in U.S. jobs since 1999; this period was the only decade when employment within America grew by less than 20 percent.

The unemployed are not supposed to acknowledge corporate profits, the export of jobs overseas, or eroding wage standards or anything else that they can contest; instead they should blame themselves as the source of their hardship of being jobless. Articles that attack the down-trodden citizens should be addressed immediately so as not to distract us from the real issues of greed, cronyism and a few other things that our local elected officials don't feel their citizens should be privy to.

There are over 15 million Americans officially unemployed. There are also 10 million discouraged jobless workers - not to forget those involuntarily forced to work part-time. The slight number of positions going unoccupied is insignificant in comparison. Actually, only 5 percent of all current manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants.

Christine Young-Brown

President, Newton/Rockdale County SCLC