Location, location, debt?

Businesses decide to locate or expand in North Carolina based on dozens of factors, and concern over the effect of the state’s debt on unemployment insurance is not anywhere near the top of the list.

That State Sen. Tom Apodaca and, I expect, his colleagues are using that to justify cutting jobless benefits is absurd. I’m sure he means well, but he and other legislators are being duped by conservative advisers who should know better.

Modern businesses choose where to locate based on long-term profitability, and that means a ready supply of qualified workers, access to customers, a reliable infrastructure and an enjoyable environment. Kicking workers when they’re already down-and-out is bad economic policy and, frankly, immoral.

Carol Conway, Chapel Hill