Public Amenities

* With the defense budget of the Cold War long gone, a balanced federal budget and a surplus state budget, isn’t it time we spent substantive money on improving our own nation? Rather than waste our time on matters of infidelity and dishonesty, our elected officials must work toward bringing the wealthiest nation in history into the ranks of the first world.

We must move beyond being a nation of automobiles and Wal-Mart parking lots. It is time to build a lasting infrastructure beyond anemic Amtrak, city buses and gridlock. We are a century behind Europe and Japan in terms of high-speed trains, subways and other infrastructure of substance. Public boulevards, art and open spaces within our cities are lacking, to embarrassing degrees. We must wake up as a nation and realize our collective duty to each other as citizens.

JASON DOMINIK HOOL

Pacific Palisades