Aid to Poor

I feel the need to address the Column Left by Todd Gitlin and Ruth Rosen (Jan. 6). They bemoan the loss of attention by two Democratic candidates, Gov. Bill Clinton and Sen. Robert Kerrey, to the “working class” people of this country. I think this reflects the very problem that has caused the left, and left issues, to be eclipsed.

We are all working class. We all get up every morning and come home late every evening, hoping to have made enough money to get ahead and send our children to school. Some of us wear white shirts, others blue. Gitlin and Rosen create a distinction that may not exist in today’s realities, and perhaps shouldn’t. We have largely become economic conservatives. We want to help the disadvantaged; our history of giving to charities speaks to this fact. We are, however, not willing to throw money at programs that have shown little or no return. In the last year we have turned even more recalcitrant as we see our own abilities to maintain a lifestyle for ourselves ebb.

Charity does begin at home. I refuse to pay for the additional dollars to support an additional child for someone who cannot afford it when I am unable to make my own ends meet. This means we must be more creative and helpful to these people, not abandon them. They and their children should not be forced to suffer, but they must take responsibility for their lives and help us help them. Only then will we see the fruits of our investments.

We can afford no less. We can afford no more.

MICHAEL J. HAWKINS

Camarillo