L.A. Gang Epidemic
In your article on gang violence, state Sen. David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) laments the rending of the social fabric in the inner city. This, he explains, is the consequence of cuts in social programs occasioned by Proposition 13 and former President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan took office in 1981. Proposition 13 passed in 1978. There were already plenty of drugs, guns, and crimes in the ghetto before then, so the senator had better look deeper for root causes.
Let him take as his starting point the birth dates of the hard young criminals who do the rending he complains of. They were born in the ‘60s and early ‘70s: products of the Great Society, not victims of Republican parsimony. It was an age of faith that social programs would end crime and poverty. Roberti may still believe, but wiser folks have learned from experience.
Bring forth a government program that will keep fathers in the home, Senator, or cause mothers to care that their children are raised right. Some things cannot be bought with tax dollars.
RICHARD HEALEY
Huntington Beach
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
