I read the letter to the editor sent by Leo Thoennes on May 14 with interest. I also was born before the Great Depression and have some comments about getting the United States economy back on track.

Unlike Mr. Thoennes, my mother, father and I rode the rails out here from Minneapolis and stayed with relatives in Rock Island, WA. I went to work at age 10 and worked until 2009.

Look at the underlying causes of current U.S. economic problems. The primary cause is that we are a debtor nation. The U.S. Census data gives a trade deficit of $817 trillion for 2006. The trade deficit with China is about one-third of that. The U.S. also has significant trade deficits with countries like Canada and Mexico.

The total annual trade deficit with all countries should be phased out over about three years. This would allow us to bring jobs in technology and manufacturing back to the United States.

Concurrently, we should reduce the size of government by 35 percent for non-essential services. We have lost our technological edge. Furthermore, we have enabled China to build up her war machine.

The exporting of technology is also a security risk. Another factor is outsourcing of jobs.

Richard Coe, Ph.D., Federal Way