Opening of the Reagan Library

Instead of “welfare queens,” we now have four smug self-congratulating welfare kings (as drawn by Paul Conrad, Nov. 4) whose lavish lifestyles the hard-pressed taxpayer has been supporting for far too long. The general rationale for this largess by the taxpayers was originally enacted to prevent an ex-President from languishing in poverty after his term of office was finished. These four recipients of large amounts of public funds--pensions, lavish offices, Secret Service protection (for what or from whom?), etc., are all millionaires, wealthy men who have no need for nor should they receive public funds. With a larger and larger number of Americans needing food stamps just to survive, it’s certainly incongruous, to say the least, that our taxes must go to these people just to support their extravagant lifestyles.

Their collective accomplishments? A monumental budget deficit and a Supreme Court made up of mediocrities, while, of course, each of them enjoyed an ego trip along with free health care and other assorted perks of office. With longevity adding to the numbers of ex-presidents and the cost of providing their pensions and perks, something should be done to change this system of welfare for the rich. I would like to see our public funds used for more constructive purposes than providing people like Nancy Reagan the rationale and the wherewithal for more thousand-dollar gowns!

MARIAN SELVIN, Los Angeles