Monroe
To the editor:
If a person wants to write an informative letter in the Mailbag, I think they should first go down to their local library and read some good books about why our economy is in such bad shape as it is. It hasn't always been that bad. In fact, it's been really good when Franklin Roosevelt was president and set-up some guidelines to live by. You could read the books written about his history.
You could even get transcripts of Bill Moyers over the Internet, when he interviewed people like David Stockman, who used to be President Reagan's budget director, who talked about "crony capitalism" and real capitalism, hedge funds and a real bank that doesn't act like an investment bank.
Mr. Moyers also talked to Gretchen Morgenson, a New York Times reporter, who said this is a story the New York Times should have gotten involved with years ago, when the first bubble blew up in the housing market, just before President G.W. Bush left office. She said it's going to happen again if we don't take time to correct the problems that caused the bubble to explode. She told just why Glass-Steagall was good for 70 years and was not that big a document. Mr. Moyers also has other interviews, that anyone, it they took the time to listen to, could write an informative letter in their local Mailbag Column and sign their real name. If you can't do that, you'll never going to get any accurate conservation going. Just like Bill Moyers on Public Television is attempting to do. Just like all the books I've read over the years.
It's interesting when you listen to the Republican presidential candidates in the debate concerning capital gains. Mr. Romney, who has all his money in the stock market, pays taxes at a 14-percent rate rather than at 35 percent. One of the Republican candidates said they should reduce the capital gains rate to zero and Mr. Romney said then he wouldn't pay any income taxes. The way the Republican primary sounds now, when they're arguing with each other, I wouldn't think the Republicans would have too much to complain about when it comes time to run against President Obama in the main election because we can't keep borrowing for foreign governments and Social Security forever.
