Economic Aid for Los Angeles

Imagine it is late in the fourth quarter, your team has the ball, and then the referee orders the goal line moved 20 yards farther away. The government offered investors tax goodies in the 1980s if they would finance low-income housing. In 1986, after Uncle Sam had what he wanted he took the tax goodies away, leaving the investors holding the bag with mounting liabilities and no way out. He moved the goal posts.

Enterprise zones have laudable aims which I admire, in spite of the problems that have to be worked out. But the prospective investor should remember the 1986 tax act changed the rules during the game. His investment may turn into philanthropy.

L.F. SMITH, La Mesa