Opportunity Knocks, if You’re Willing to Listen

Re “Though Far From Poor, a Family Struggles Daily,” May 18: My husband makes $20 an hour in construction, we have two small children and I don’t work outside the home. I guess we’re poor -- similar to the Basurto family. Instead of sitting around waiting for society to hand me a house, new car and healthcare on a silver platter, I go to school at night with hopes of becoming a nurse and my husband is studying for his contractor’s license exam in June. Opportunities are out there for those who are willing to go get them.

Elin Cheverez

Ojai

*

The Basurtos are definitely middle class. They provide a stable home for their children. They are educating their children. They both work. They are a two-parent family. They are building a better future for their children than, perhaps, they have right now. They are achieving and bettering their lives. How much more middle class and admirable does it get?

Terry Greenberger

Los Angeles

*

It was illuminating to read about how tenuous the stability of a “middle class” family in Southern California can really be. Reading about how such a seemingly righteous and hardworking family struggles with its precarious situation was sobering. The article clearly demonstrates that even when a person has skills in place, making ends meet can prove truly difficult. Therefore, young people starting out must be mindful to live responsibly, study hard and live within their means to achieve some truer sense of stability.

Rafael Mazas

Boyle Heights

*

The Times continues to do a disservice to our community when it “front-pages” articles about middle-to-lower-class poverty and omits all mention of the erroneous choices these people made to cause their own poverty. Much “poverty” could be eliminated if people realized that it is irresponsible to have children they cannot afford to have, or to at least go to Planned Parenthood for advice on how to limit the family to one child, as much of China has done.

Similarly, if you cannot afford private school, get active in your local public school and help the teaching profession by making sure your children are well behaved, respectful and diligent in their studies and homework. Finally, get out and vote and send a message to the politicians that you object to enormous tax cuts for the wealthy and irresponsible foreign wars, all of which rob our society of the wherewithal to enhance education, job opportunities, healthcare, etc.

Sid Turkish

Beverly Hills