Business Letters
The July 23 Business section reported some disturbing news: "United, Jet Blue to cut flights" and the effect these and other airline cutbacks are having on local airports; "2 banks post billions in losses"; and that "Bush sees a ‘hangover’ in economy" and notes problems in the housing market.
Was there any additional financial doom and gloom not reported? Other than our California budget crisis and the FDIC needing to increase its cash reserves and so many educational, state and municipal cutbacks.
Please tell me where the money is going to come from when all the state and federal governments are concerned about is cutting taxes? We need to face the inevitable. We need to increase revenues by having the rich pay their fair share or, alternatively, going to our Arab and Chinese friends begging for more loans.
Ira M. Landis
Ocean Hills
Regarding ": Lenders making so-called option adjustable-rate mortgages, whereby the loan balance could increase, and interest-only loans, whereby the loan balance did not decrease, were betting that property values would continue to rise.
They also were betting that regardless of whether borrowers could make the payments, the lenders still would have the collateral, which would be worth a lot more.
That is not lending. That is real estate speculating. Where were the regulators when this activity was going on?
Anita Roglich
Santa Monica
Finding cheap chic at Goodwill
I am 64 and suffered, along with my mother, trying to "fit in" to the images conveyed by the magazines during the "stylish" 1950s. ("A back-to-school break: Cheap is in," Your Money, July 20.)
The freedom of today's teenagers to express themselves through what they wear is truly a gift. I was surprised you did not include thrift stores in your listing of sources for independent dressing.
I can't tell you how delighted I am to be perusing the jeans rack at my local Goodwill, find myself standing next to someone young enough to be my grandchild and be able to ask, "Do you think this is stylish?" The invariably friendly response reaffirms my belief that fashion no longer suffers from rigid barriers of style or age.
Ruth Kramer Ziony
Los Feliz
Restoration not quite finished
Regarding Wayne Ratkovich's restoration projects in the L.A. area, especially the building at 617 S. Olive St. ("Returning landmarks’ luster," July 22):
