Oct. 3, 2026 7 AM PT

To the editor: Kudos to columnist Steve Lopez for concisely framing the big changes that have disabled much of California (“The California I grew up in was full of ambition and possibility. Is the dream still alive?,” Sept. 30). The state was a mecca for creativity and excellence due to those who came before us insisting that a good and inexpensive education would pay for itself by providing a talented local workforce.

Affordability for housing and other life necessities were added benefits provided by education.

There were other important programs that faded away over all of these years. Public service! I’m a bit older than Lopez and I completed high school before joining the armed services. In those days, prior to Vietnam, many of us joined one of the military branches to avoid possibly interrupting our college education due to the draft. Joining the service taught us lifelong lessons like how to get along with those who are different from us, a devotion to the principles of working for the common good and the realization that a great country is composed of great communities of people working together.

Several of President Kennedy’s programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA, and later the Jobs Corps, made us consider giving to others unselfishly. The American dream was not what our country could do for us. It was what we could do for our country.

I’m an optimist. I think future leadership will provide inspiration to our better selves. The path we are on is unsustainable.

Arthur Kraus, Venice

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To the editor: Lopez asks if “the dream [is] still alive” and compares the cost of living from his childhood to today. He asks what has gone wrong — why can’t a working-class person afford to buy a house, e.g.?

To borrow a phrase: It’s the wages, stupid.

According to some economists, minimum wage should be around $25 per hour today if pay had grown properly from 1968 levels. Where would that money come from, you ask? The wages of corporate CEOs.

The Economic Policy Institute points out this fact: “From 1978-2025, top CEO compensation shot up 1,316%, compared with a 28% increase in a typical worker’s compensation.”

It’s time to rebalance our economy. C-suite executives should earn less and workers should be paid more.

Nancy Steele, Altadena

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To the editor: Great column on Friday written by one of the best. He and others are spot-on; with the lack of investments and housing, plus over-permitting requirements, we are killing this great state.

Michael L. Newton, Los Angeles