Growth

Prof. James Moore’s article (“Lock the Gates and the Castle Crumbles,” California Commentary, Feb. 26), is a classic misapplication of cold economic theory to a human issue. He asserts that the unregulated marketplace ought to determine whether and how Los Angeles grows, rather than the democratic political process. That is the mistaken path that has produced smog, closed beaches, polluted water and diminishing open space.

Instead, we ought to focus on the public health implications of development. Los Angeles suffers from the dirtiest air in the nation. Our beaches are too often the repository of sewage and sludge. Moore’s marketplace theory ignores these ugly realities of overdeveloped Los Angeles.

Responsible slow-growth advocates do not want to hurt our strong economy. In fact, cleaning up the Los Angeles environment would improve property values and attract more tourists.

I will have more confidence in our future if it is guided by the collective will of the public as expressed at the ballot box rather than by an invisible, unaccountable market dominated by an elite few. Public health must come before profits.

TERRY B. FRIEDMAN

Chairman, Assembly Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health

D-Los Angeles