Patricia Sabatini's July 25 Workzone article, "Flexibility -- A No-Cost Boost For Morale, Productivity," caught my attention. Many managers still can't believe workers can be productive if they are not sitting in a cubicle where the boss can see them.

Not only does a work-from-home policy boost morale and productivity and reduce traffic congestion, it reduces energy and equipment costs. It also guarantees a more stable employee base and reduced turnover cost when economic conditions improve and more jobs are available. Finally, a flexible work environment is a big benefit and, for some, is often worth a slightly lower salary.

Yet upper management will go to great lengths to save money by sending skilled programming jobs off-shore. Managers don't see the workers in India, do they? The work done by overseas programmers can easily be done here by local consulting firms, with many of the same cost savings. More companies should move into the 21st century when it comes to workplace flexibility.

BEATE SALTER
McCandless

I would like to respond to the July 24 Business Forum "U.S. Corporations Hoard When They Should Invest" by Bruce Stokes, who says, "It is time to recognize that excess corporate savings have become the roadblock to economic recovery." I would dare say the federal government is the biggest roadblock to any recovery due to its fiscally irresponsible tax codes, programs and wasteful spending.

He wants to tax corporate cash holdings or offer tax incentives to compel corporations to spend their savings. Don't they already tax everything prior to these savings?

I agree with William Gale of the Brookings Institute, who was quoted as saying "corporations don't see good investments out there." "Out there" being the market. With the federal tax cuts going away in 2011, corporations are very leery of investing in anything that will take more money from their companies.

Forcing corporations to be taxed or invest in programs that don't give them their needed return on investment is burdening to the point where much needed capital investment will wither away.

Move over capitalism; this administration is the enemy and will do everything in it's power to steal your money. Sounds like communism to me.

V.A. MAXWELL
Mt. Lebanon

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