employees vs. shareholders? no contest

In "flat but tilted" (BigPicture,March 2007), you note that "investing money in education and in training and retraining programs" is something that companies are going to have to do.

However, if the point in moving jobs overseas is to reduce costs, wouldn't such investments fly in the face of those cost-cutting efforts? Now maybe I'm being naive, but when it comes to the shareholders and building shareholder value, such options as education for employees— much like education in the United States in general—are way down on the list.

In an era when shareholders demand dollar amounts attached to every line item, we can't rely on big business to take on the responsibility of educating and training employees. Instead, I think it will fall to individuals to seek out their own educational opportunities— and to find some method of paying for them.

Joe G. Kushner, Federal Mogul Skokie