Letters to the Editor: Government should get out of the way of housing construction

To the editor: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recognizes that the long-term answer to the challenge of homelessness is growing the stock of affordable housing. Yet all he discusses are the taxes Los Angeles has imposed on itself to support investments in a series of housing-related programs and his desire to spend more federal tax dollars on Section 8 housing vouchers.

The housing stock can be increased with no expenditure of tax dollars if government at all levels reduced many of the requirements that make housing costly to build and streamlined the approval and permit processes.

Why not address that, Mr. Mayor?

Gerry Swider, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: If Garcetti was asked to cite an example of personal irresponsibility, would he identify a family made up of a day laborer, a wife working in retail and their seven children?

To ask that taxpayers living within their means increase their subsidies for such non-accountable behavior only exacerbates the societal ills that have become so pervasive.

Mr. Mayor, how about having the courage to write about the root cause of this family’s plight and encouraging others to be reasonable and responsible by not having more children than they can provide for?

Glenn Toth, Playa del Rey