Dickens comments ring true today

The Cryptoquote in the Daily Herald on Dec. 5 could not have been more timely. Charles Dickens said, "A person who can't pay gets another person who can't pay to guarantee that he can pay." The federal government, already ten trillion dollars in debt, is being asked to guarantee that financial and manufacturing giants will not fail. Who guarantees that the federal government can pay? Us. But American individuals are in staggering debt, as well. Mortgage and credit card debt are heavy burdens, even in good times. And these are not good times. Had we lived in Dickens time, the debtors' prison would be extremely overcrowded. Who would bail us out?

Donald G. Westlake

Wheaton