Need to re-establish ideals to save nation

We, a group of sophomores from Naperville North High School, recently gathered to discuss the current economic crisis. The principles we hold are identical to those held by the founders of this country: that man's life is an end in itself; that the pursuit of happiness is any individuals noblest purpose; that no man may lay claim on the life of another, regardless of the moral quality of his intentions; and that the rights to life, liberty, and property are the only proper practical implementations of the aforementioned. We also hold that man's engagement in society is entirely voluntary; therefore, it is immoral and impractical to enslave the individual in order to pay for the mistakes or misfortunes of others.

The economy today can be resurrected by following these simple but important principles. Despite what we have been told, by both politicians and the media, the cause of this crisis is not greed rather, it is the use of political power to force individuals and corporations to act against their interests. Why did banks lend to people who were unable to pay them back? The government gave them the incentive to do so and, under the Clinton administration, even threatened banks with lawsuits if they failed to lend to unemployed families. Why are so many Americans unable to find jobs in order to support their families and pay for their own health insurance? The government levies irrational and immoral taxes on society's top producers to protect American industries from the enlivening effects of international competition, to keep workers from receiving wages deemed unfair by the vanguard elite; in effect, punishing the greatest virtue humanity has ever known: productivity; or, using the words of our country's top politicians: Selfishness. To save our country, we need to reestablish the ideals upon which it was founded, the self-interested pursuit of happiness among them.

Greg Larson

Brendan Moore

Mallory Price

Toni Primo

Peter Sargent