Cutting U.S. Defense Spending

In response to “Change in Europe Clouds Defense Industry Outlook,” Part A, Nov. 21:

As countless Americans go without adequate nutrition and housing, as our children fall behind their peers around the world in basic learning and turn instead to dangerous drugs, as our air and water become unsafe, as thousands upon thousands fall sick and die from AIDS, and as our country loses ground daily in the technological battle with the Japanese, we worry that the fallout from democratic change in Eastern Europe may include a substantial drop in the defense budget. This $180-billion reduction might lead to widespread layoffs in Southern California’s defense industry.

$180 billion! Think of the potential. We could help shore up our crumbling bridges and roadways before the next natural disaster. We could equip our schools with computers and pay our teachers a wage commensurate with their extraordinary value. We could map the human genome--maybe even find a cure for AIDS or come close to understanding the terrible mystery of cancer.

We could begin to tackle, with real resolve and national will, the big issues: famine, pollution and overcrowding.

Surely the immensely talented men and women who are employed in the design and manufacture of instruments of warfare could turn their remarkable ingenuity and dedication to solving the problems of a troubled human community. Surely our taxes are best spent when they leave the world a healthier place.

DAVID RESKIN

Hollywood