Living Wage

* I was pleased to see “Lives Get a Little Better on a Living Wage” (Feb. 7). I applaud the efforts of Los Angeles and other cities around the country to bring some hope and dignity to the working poor. If we are truly interested in helping people off the welfare rolls, and the voters seem to say that we are, then we must commit ourselves to providing a viable alternative. A living wage, while not always enough to lift people out of federally defined poverty, is an important first step.

Your story about Jose Morales helped to show how much difference a living wage can actually make in a person’s life. Hopefully it will provide some of the moral persuasion necessary to convince employers that a living wage is not just a nice thing to do but the right thing. People of goodwill who are concerned about the working poor should encourage businesses to pay a living wage and then patronize those businesses that do so.

DAVID BURROUGHS

Pasadena