Government Aid

I enjoyed reading Alvin L. Schorr’s column “Banks Don’t Have to Beg; Why Should the Poor?” (Op-Ed Page, Feb. 2). Former President Reagan continually harangued us with his declaration that we should get government off our backs. “Less government is good government.” Yet, how quickly do corporate interests flock to Washington with their lobbyists for government contracts and bailouts when the going gets tough. Yet, when labor and the poor plead their case, they’re told to “pick themselves up by their bootstraps.” In other words, do it without the help of government. Do not do as we do, but do as we say.

In the same issue of Schorr’s column was a news item about Pasadena’s welfare queen convicted in 1983 of perpetrating $377,000 in welfare fraud, the largest in U.S. history. Compared to the billions of dollars which have been lost in the savings and loan scams, mergers and takeovers, defense procurement scams, billions of dollars lost to Third World countries in imprudent bank loans, the queen of welfare fraud seems like small potatoes indeed. Welfare fraud compared to corporate fraud can be compared to an anthill standing alongside Mount Vesuvius. But a needle can take on the appearance of the Washington Monument if it is held close to the eye.

S.M. ROSEN

Newberry Park