Dec. 31, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: If People must be wealthy to present, we live in a reasonably egocentric society (“How do we create a more generous America?,” Dec. 25).
Contributing author Veronique de Rugy equates generosity with wealth and utterly misses the purpose. Her premise that wealth needs to be created by shifting previous protections for employees and the atmosphere is past miserly.
True generosity is giving when it’s troublesome to do. From Joseph and Mary needing to hunt shelter in a manger to Ebenezer Scrooge realizing that the impoverished Bob Cratchet’s life is richer than his, the premise of the Christmas story stays fixed — and it doesn’t contain buying wealth.
The Los Angeles Instances’ current front-page article about community-based little one care illustrates this properly (“These South L.A. women built a child-care haven on their block. It’s a lifeline for families,” Dec. 22). Jackie Jackson, who usually earns about $1,500 a month caring for her group, just isn’t ready for abundance to start out giving. She simply does it.
Jackie Stansbury, Santa Monica
