A few years ago I read a story about the expansion of the suburbs into the canyons around Los Angeles. A woman was asked why she and her husband built their house there and she responded that it was so they could enjoy the natural surroundings. The reporter said that as he was leaving, the woman escorted him to his car and kicked a toad out of the way. The toad was an endangered Arroyo toad and her house was 7,000 square feet! And they love nature! Yeah, sure.

Sounds a lot like envy.

Letters like this leave me wondering what the writer's aim is. He complains, but offers no solution. Is he suggesting government action or a free-market compromise? Is he railing against the zoning laws or against people who like big houses?

Big Egos = Big Homes. Big homes = more energy and resource consumption to water that big yard with the kidney bean island out front, fire up the two to three furnaces for heating, and the same amount of condensing units that will require electricity to help cool the 18' vaulted ceiling house in the summer.
Big house also equals big property tax revenue for local municipalities. You want a big house, fine, build it, but when you start to see your water, Questar, and Rocky Mountain Power bill, I hope that you will take the time to consider just how much energy you're consumming for your 'dream house'. You probably won't because you live a life devoid of thought for what little resources are available for our use.
When your house goes up in flames because you built up in the foot hills or the mouth of the canyon, don't come crying because there wont be a whole lot of us down here in the valleys that will feel much sympathy towards your plight.
Sincerely, someone who lives in a modest sized house and is totally content with it. Bigger is not better!

Less is more.

What a <your favorite adjective here> letter! The square footage of a house is small compared to the square footage of its lot, in normal cases. What would actually have a visual impact would be putting houses farther apart, or avoiding putting them high on the hills.

Do I sense a tinge of envy here?

People like Dave who most likely claim to be good conservative Christians with "family values" just love to play the "envy" card at those who see their extravagant and wasteful facade for what it is...a mask of overcompensation for shortcomings in other areas of life. By the way, it's precisely this kind of living beyond one's means that has driven the U.S. into a recession. Enjoy your McMansion and Hummer while ye may, for tomorrow the piper comes for his pay.

It's because Americans have become incredibly narcissistic.
A family of four "needs" a 6000 square foot home with 6 bathrooms.

Could it be that many have fallen victim to the belief that buying a home is an investment to be traded rather than an expense? If we looked at our homes as an expense without the expectation of future appreciation, maybe the infatuation with big homes wouldn't be so prevalent. My guess is that most owners of those homes are deeply in debt, anticipating perpetual price inflation to enrich them.

Or maybe people just like to have the space.....

I say if you can afford the bills, then why is it your business what kind of house I live in?

To quote my misguided liberal friends-
Keep your laws off my abode...

@ Whatever...
"or maybe people just like to have the space"...makes sense, until those people have to be bailed out by the government for biting off more than they could chew. I've got no problem with people enjoying that which they can afford, but keeping up with the Joneses in Utah has become a religion that few can actually afford. It astonishes me because the dominant religion teaches modesty and against extravagance, but far too many of its followers fail to heed that counsel.

This is amusing! This is the second time this has happened. I am a 5th grade teacher and writing letters to the editor was our assignment. This sweet letter comes from a 10-year-old girl learning how to express her opinion, not an envious whining adult. Have a good day!

Amen, GeeBee.

@Teacher: Good for the little girl!

But perhaps some adult oversight may have prevented the inevitable and obvious bewilderment by readers. The idea is not well thought-out or logical, and so perhaps isn't appropriate to have been sent to a newspaper without disclosing her age.

To Teacher: now it makes sense. It must be part of the recycling/save-the-environment indoctrination program now taught in the schools. Thanks for the info.

To quote my misquided conservative friends-
"It's all about me!"

Another example from our "It's all about me" world.

Why? PRIDE.

To say they are better than someone else. They're not, of course, since a building is a poor gauge of the character of a person. Big house plus big mortgage equals a big fat zero.

Or we could just crowd together and live like they do in places like Hong Kong. Too many people is the problem. As long as our economy is based on increasing the number of consumers (like a pyramid scheme)we will be forced to crowd together anyway.

@ Teacher,

Thanks a lot!!!

It is bad enough to have teachers like yourself who are actively corrupting the children given to your care for your own personal biased agendas. It is bad enough that the people in this state hate ALL teachers because they think ALL teachers are trying to do just what you have done. You give the good teachers ,like myself, who try to encourage the children to think for themselves, instead of becoming an extension of what YOU think, a bad name!!! You are the biggest reason the people in this state don't trust any of us!!! You are not helping anything but you certainly are encouraging further divisiveness. You have shown that teachers are trying to pull fast ones on the public.

Thanks again for making the case for all the teacher haters out their!!!! You sure make us all proud!!! (that's sarcasm if you hadn't noticed.)

It may be true that smaller is better, but who's job is it to decide what size another person's house should be? The government? A few of us know-it-all of the posters? NO. We still live in a free America and we can decide for ourself what size our house should be (for now).

I'm not looking forward to the day when the government or some environmental protection group has to OK whatever you do and make sure you are doing it the way they would do it.

That said... I agree there are a lot of houses out there that are bigger than they need to be. But it isn't my job to regulate them or shame them for what they do.

We all need to consider the environment and think hard about what WE do, and quit trying to tell others what THEY should do.

I wonder whatever happened to the dictum, "feed the Hungry, clothe the naked ...?"
Many of our LDS members try to outdo their neighbors with big houses and all manner of luxuries. We should be modest in all things, and that includes houses. The surplus we have should be given to the poor.

Oh, come off it 2 bits!
Why the paranoia of the government coming in and telling you what size your house should be?

Doesn't that right-wing station ever focus on wire-tapping or something. Now THAT's BIG BROTHER for you, but this, for some odd reason doesn't seem to bother the right-wingers?

Riches detract us -

You are correct.
I've never in my life seen such a competitive bunch of people such as the LDS people.
A sibling society all onto itself.

@ Another Teacher

The children chose their topics. They ranged in everything from the war in Iraq to thanking the city for maintaining the duck pond. I don't agree with all of their points of view, but I do agree with their right to send a letter on topics they took interest in. Although I set myself up for it by jumping into a comment forum, please understand that your words were hurtful to a teacher coming in each day to do the best job she knows how.

To Teacher-
I for one would like to thank you for doing what I consider the world's hardest job with the world's most ungrateful pay. You are teaching those kids how to be aware of the world's events, which these days is essential, as well as being active in civics. Keep up the good work and let the detractors rot in their ignorance.

To Teacher
My hat is off to you, keep up the good work of helping our kids to be involved with the world around them :)

To Teacher: I apologize if anything I said was hurtful. I certainly didn't mean to if I did. This comment board can be pretty rough and tumble, and isn't the place for people with thin skins. Very little that's said here is personal, it's just political posturing sometimes in an attempt to score a point. Please don't think we're mean, because I think most of us are decent people who just enjoy a robust debate.

they wonder why wildlife is ruining their beautiful flowers and eating their household pets or even mother nature mudsliding on them....LOL!!

I appreciate your kind words. It's been a fun and interesting debate that my little 5th grader had no clue she started! She was just excited to be in the paper.

Keep building all those McMansions in my neighborhood. I enjoy seeing my property values go up.

Dear Teacher:
When I was in college and took an upper division writing course, you had two choices:
1) Agree with what the professor said in class, write a paper praising their ideas and get an "A" or 2) Disagree with what the professor said in class, write a paper discussing the point, get an "D", and have to retake the course.

Thanks for being a teacher who shows how to write and not lecture about what point of view.

By the way your Dad is right here next to me a he said to give him a call.

all thes people who said that to my teacher that just made me mad and peyton you rock

Another Teacher:
Would you mind posting where you teach? I want to make sure I keep my daughter away from your class, voucher or not I'll pay for the private school if needed. Homeschool is better than your ignorance.

Reading the remarks of "another teacher" above I can tell you which teacher I would rather have my kids be graded by. "Teacher" your students are lucky to have you as their teacher.

i want to say that i dont know who this another teacher is, but don't ever say that to our teacher again

to all the people that said that to teacher mad me mad! and another teacher don't you ever say that again to my teacher. peyton and teacher u both rock!

and i so agree with u makenly. but who agrees that "another teacher" shouldn't of had said that to "teacher"?

Peyton,
You and our teacher are so right. I love watching the sun-set but sometimes big houses are blocking the beautiful sight. Our teacher is so creative to give us that assignment.

@another teacher

I am in the same class as peyton the 10 yr. old girl concerning about the houses. And if peyton a 10yr.old girl wants to state her opinion then she should be able to do that without having been judge and told it's none of her buiness what kind of house they live in.She has a good point and it should not be ignorred.If you mess with our teacher and student, then you messed with 30 kids who care!! So what do you have to say about that.!!! P.S [I'm being sarcastic if you haven't noticed]:-(

@sarah layton

u are right she shouldn't have to be judge at all peyton u rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!