A study in contrasts

I was completely flabbergasted by “In L.A. Real Estate, $10 Million Is the New $1 Million.” I cannot understand why I am bombarded by mail requests from homeless organizations and meals on wheels programs, when people in this region have so much money they can afford to live in massive houses far bigger than they could possibly need. There may be a shortage of “affordable” million-dollar homes in this city, but there seems no shortage of need and poverty.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t begrudge people owning and living in fancy homes if they can afford them. But do you really need a $10-million “manor” that’s so massive that the entry hall holds a floral arrangement big enough to dwarf a 13-year-old? And where the children have their own wing to play hide-and-seek in when they’re not fooling around in the elevator?

There is tremendous need in this world, just as there is massive wealth. How do we get people to come out from behind their mansion walls and their gated communities and do their part to bridge the huge gap between the haves and the have-nots that thrives in this sun-drenched land we call Southern California?

Wendy Wainwright

Los Angeles