Don’t Deny One Child to Indulge Another

Re “Spending Isn’t Best Measure of Caring,” Aug. 25:

I don’t see how John Campbell can equate limiting the “want list” of his children raised with money and privilege with the basic humanitarian needs of the poor. I contend, Mr. Campbell, it is inhumane and heartless to promote a society in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Even with no increase in spending, if the money the government spends on education were more equally distributed, the poor would have more. The inequality of per-pupil spending in school districts is a prime example. And when it comes to health care, just how does eliminating the employer and “reconnecting the patient with health care and its cost” empower the patient to pay the bill?

May I remind Mr. Campbell that the good Samaritan paid the bill for the one who could not. He didn’t just “connect” the victim with the innkeeper. When Jesus said, “The poor you will have with you always,” he wasn’t resigning himself to a permanent underclass. He was bemoaning how the rich perpetuate the unequal distribution of wealth. The best parent does not withhold basic sustenance from one child to indulge another.

Connie Regener

Irvine