To the editor:

Sen. Haugen wrote in a guest commentary which appeared in the Nov. 17 edition of the Everett Herald concerning the question of whether future ferry boats should be built locally, or should be outsourced to out-of-state ship builders.

Her only argument for not outsourcing was that building locally provides employment for local workers and improves the local economy. She never mentioned the cost of building locally versus outsourcing. I have to assume that this is not a concern for her.

It is my conclusion that if you can get a boat of equal quality elsewhere for less money, the local ship builders must be overcharging. They can do this because our state government protects them from outside competition. And the taxpayers pay for the overcharge. Not wasting taxpayer dollars also helps the local economy.

I suppose that none of these considerations really makes any difference. With a $3.5 billion shortfall in the state budget next year, it is unlikely that any new ferry boats will be built for a very long time.

Elaine and Richard Steinhoff

Freeland