The economy is everyone's fault

John Dill's letter, "Don't blame the free market," states "The free market is dying," and he blames the politicians. That may be partially true, but let's expand the picture.

We have never had a true free market in this country. Our first settlement, Jamestown, was essentially a socialist-based, military dictatorship. Had it not been for an Indian "bailout," every man, woman and child would have perished within a year. Things have improved, but we still don't have it right.

When I taught business ethics to adult students, I was struck by the pervasive dishonesty of American business. My students shared stories of their company's illegal activities - cheating on taxes, subverting trade laws, stealing from customers, vendors, employees. As Americans, we have forgotten that the second essential component to freedom is responsibility.

Our financial crisis can be blamed on every sector of society; that is what makes it so painful. Did you cheat on a mortgage or credit application? As a banker did you ignore dishonest applications or sell adjustable-rate mortgages that stuck homeowners with unaffordable payments? Were you the blind bank regulator who ignored the risky loan portfolios of the banks, or the Fannie Mae executive who recklessly bought the loans? How about the President or Congressmen who foolishly told us that everyone deserved to own a home?

Wall Street simply put the nails in the coffin - packaging subprime loans into toxic securities and selling them with crooked bond ratings to naive investors. The Fed kept interest rates low, the SEC looked away, and we all believed prosperity would never end. How arrogant and stupid can you get?

Congress may overreach in its regulatory zeal and slow our recovery; but if you only see regulation and government as evil, you ignore the fact that we are all responsible for this mess and the clean up.

William S. Hicks

Carpentersville