Government’s Concern for Poor

Gerald L. Hewett (Letters, July 27) bleeds copiously, this time for the rich. I wonder why, because he himself says, “They (the rich) direct and control” him and others who are willing to work for a living. I say, they also direct and control a lot of our politicians and anyone else for whom riches and power are everything.

Believe it or not, there are people who do not envy the money and power of the super rich. All they want is shelter, enough food, clothing, and dignity for themselves and their families.

During the Great Depression our government in the person of Franklin D. Roosevelt did give hope to the destitute. And Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty was successful in helping the poor to live in hope and in dignity. These programs helped people, and people are more important than billions of dollars.

And speaking of “billions and billions--many billions--of tax dollars,” as Hewett puts it, I would point out that the Reagan presidency has quadrupled the federal deficit and doubled the national debt, and Ronald Reagan did not do it by going overboard helping the poor. It is a good question Hewett asks--”What has happened to those billions?”

Hewett’s final word was a gem. “If the poor don’t like it, then let them get an education and join the monopoly.” Children as a segment of our society are today the most poverty stricken. There are babies who are already addicted to drugs at birth. This segment of the population goes to sleep hungry night after night. And if they don’t have enough food, do they have enough warm and useful clothing? How much learning can anyone achieve under these conditions?

We can at least be thankful that for a while in the past our government showed deep concern for humanity.

LELA B. THOMAS

Carlsbad