Readers React: Nearing retirement but needing to work for low pay

To the editor: Given the insanely high cost of living in Southern California, I had expected to work until I would start receiving Social Security benefits at age 70. But after being laid off from my teaching position a year ago, I may find it necessary to extend that horizon. (“Loss of mid-wage jobs hampers state’s growth,” Aug. 8)

Recently, I was offered a position that pays up to $525 a week, my wage in 1987. So you might say I am no stranger to the wage stagnation you mentioned in your article.

Furthermore, age discrimination is yet another hurdle I and many like me have to face. Too bad the ice floes are melting; there won’t be room enough for all the workers over 50.

It is a sad day when what was once the Golden State is home to a county (Los Angeles) that ranks 302nd out of 334 large counties nationwide in wage growth. That said, I and my fellow millions will continue to seek work, and I guess we’d better start practicing saying, “Do you want fries with that?”

Hollis Jordan, Toluca Lake

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To the editor: The fix is not infrastructure spending or raising the minimum wage. The fix is a total redirection of the California mindset.

California needs to incentivize the private sector rather than burdening it with regulations and taxes. It is not brain surgery.

States that support the private sector are creating quality jobs. The exodus of these jobs from California will continue until there is a major shift in the political and business climate of our state.

Don Black, Rancho Palos Verdes