To the Editor:
James Glassman’s article on American economic policy after the meltdown is accurate in almost every respect [“The Failure of the Liberal Economic Experiment?,” September]. However, he neglects to mention one important, catalytic point. George W. Bush repeatedly asked Congress for stricter mortgage regulations, and congressional Democrats (including Senator Barack Obama) refused to act. Some, like Barney Frank, repeatedly assured Americans that there was no danger of a housing meltdown. Glassman cedes critical ground by saying that investors caused the bubble that led to our current economic crisis. It was, in fact, a reluctance to regulate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and the ratings agencies that created the problem in the first place. This further strengthens the author’s assertion that liberal policy has failed.
THEO F
Address withheld
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To the Editor:
Not only has the Obama administration instituted failing economic policy, as James Glassman points out; it has been bashing businesses and pursuing actions that are antagonistic to business activity. Large corporations are said to be flush with money they are not investing; small businesses and entrepreneurs are spooked; and the economy is in stasis, at best.
This creates more room for bad policy. Those who create jobs and goods have essentially withdrawn their skills and resources from investment and development, ceding the field to big government. All this has happened at a pace alarming enough to make everyone fearful. Perhaps our economic doldrums will bring a greater awareness of the harm that can be inflicted by incompetent governance and ideologues who don’t understand America’s citizens, her history, her documents, or her institutions.
KENT LYON
College Station, Texas