Angry White Guys

I am an even angrier white guy than Larry Fondation (“Jeremiad of An Angry White Guy,” Nov. 2) but I have different reasons for feeling “stereotyped.”

I am angry, after working in my profession for over 20 years and finally realizing some degree of financial success, that nearly half of my hard-earned income is sucked up by taxes. It wouldn’t be so bad of they had some kind of beneficial effect. The problem is, despite all the taxation, Los Angeles County is still turning into a Third World country.

An enormous percentage of the population doesn’t even speak English. And not even Fondation can deny that many are here illegally. These are people who will never be fully enfranchised. So, when they need medical care, I pay. When they get into a car accident without insurance, I pay. When they or their children commit crimes, I pay. When they have babies they can’t afford to feed and clothe, I pay. When real estate values in their neighborhoods decline and the tax base shrinks, I pay. And, when they don’t pay any taxes, I pay for them.

Guess what happens if I complain about this scenario. People like Fondation yell “Racist!” I’m just another rich, heartless white guy who wants to keep black and brown people down.

Should these “racist, rich people” be so heavily taxed that their children will never learn that there are tangible rewards for hard work?

I will concede that Proposition 187 was poorly written and contained many measures that were overly draconian. I will also concede that affirmative action is important. But only in the educational system. If we want to raise people up before we all get brought down, we’ll need to make them all successful, tax-paying members of our society. If that means bending some enrollment criteria, so be it. However, once they’re in the workplace, merit is the only criterion for advancement in an industrialized society. Change that and in 20 years we’ll be just like Mexico is today. A small, wealthy, educated class, oppressing the lives of a decaying working class.

JOHN R. JOHNSON, Calabasas