The June 24 editorial "Builders who pollute" rightly warns about the environmental problems caused by careless home builders.
Without discounting the pollution concerns of local builders, how about an in-depth story about the industry's hiring practices, the quality of new homes, the astronomical costs of those houses, and the greed that's undercutting existing home prices and making the market almost untenable?
Illegal immigration and the attendant social costs fall largely at the feet of home builders who hire immigrants for much less than they would pay an American worker for comparable work.
The same old tired excuses offered about keeping costs down fall on deaf ears when you price a new home. These builders are keeping the costs down by hiring illegals, but that cost is never shared by the prospective home buyer.
Aside from my concerns about the industry's hiring practices, does anyone truly believe that the quality of new home construction compares to that of 50 years ago?
Most of these mass-produced, vinyl boxes that masquerade as luxury homes are devoid of any originality and craftsmanship. You can almost see the Stepford Wives chatting on the front lawns before they return to the sterility of these poorly constructed monstrosities.
My advice to home builders who happen to read this letter is to stop building these poorly constructed, overpriced, boxlike, plastic houses, and concentrate on homes that are unique, well-constructed, and affordable.
Go back to the Arts and Crafts style, and please, please, please, toss all of your vinyl siding in the nearest trash bin.
Edward Corcoran
King George