Paying for War and Peace in Persian Gulf

I manage a business on a busy intersection. On a recent day during a 20-minute period, I have had to move one man from the front of the property because he was panhandling customers and talking to the traffic, evict two others because they decided to camp out on the patio, and watch two cars collide as they tried to avoid hitting a man with his worldly possessions strapped to his back as he urinated in the middle of the street. I know all of these people. They’re here every day. They should be getting treatment, not left to fend on the streets. But there’s no money for mental health care. How many dollars a day did you say war cost?

JAN HANSEN

Los Angeles