Eric Weis claims that offshoring means cheaper products and higher stock prices, but also fewer Americans jobs ("Americans are losing work to foreign lands," Feb. 5).

The first two points are correct, the third dead wrong. Cheaper products means Americans have more to spend on other goods -- purchases they would not have been able to make before. This creates more profits and more jobs. Profits do not disappear under peoples' mattresses. They are re-invested, either by the companies or by dividend recipients, which creates economic growth.

What Weis bemoans has been happening for the last 60 years, yet working people's share of the economic pie has not shrunk, and is not showing signs of doing so now. There is not some finite quantity of jobs in our economy. Weis sees the visible effects of offshoring: closed factories and laid-off workers. While it is difficult for the small percentage of the population that has to relocate due to shifts in our ever-changing economy, this is only one side of the story. The other, larger, side is the growth in the wealth of America, in the standards of living and quality of life.

Unfortunately, this is largely invisible as it occurs incrementally over a massive population base, whereas the negative side occurs in well-documented, highly visible batches. People who strive to close our borders to trade will succeed only in making America poorer. Why they want to do that is beyond me.