Effects of Mergers on Region

Re “Officials Mute on the Mergers That Ate L.A.,” by Peter Navarro, Commentary, March 25:

I am a certified financial planner and have been practicing in the Los Angeles area for 25 years. My children are mostly corporate managers, executives and engineers. When they retire, many can’t wait to leave Los Angeles.

Navarro sees a lot of effects of corporate mergers and acquisitions and sees them accurately. the brainpower, inventiveness, vision and determination that are the hallmarks of American business, in many cases that he recites, do not reside in Los Angeles.

Perhaps the riots, gangs, earthquakes, fires and masses if immigrant labor do not appeal to the leaders of industry. and their top managers gladly leave the city for the better life elsewhere. There is a cause and effect at work here. Navarro suggests political solutions to economic problems. Making Los Angeles more attractive to top business leaders is a matter of better schools, cleaner streets and safer neighborhoods, not political arm-twisting.

ERLEND PETERSON

Culver City

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The neglect described by Navarro is not confined to private corporate actions. Major military programs are being transferred from China Lake and Edwards Air Force Base to their counterparts in Maryland and Florida while our California delegation watches and does little. Not only does this result in eroded economies and migration of highly skilled personnel, it also diminishes our defense capability.

ADOLPH B. AMSTER

Ridgecrest