I have sent the following letter to the Wall Street Journal, commenting on the Roberts piece:
Thank you, Professor Roberts, for providing a crushing refutation to the trope that the current financial crisis is due to “free market excesses” and “deregulation.” Most of those peddling that line (especially Senators Obama and Biden) know it’s false, but find it irresistible to take political advantage of people’s ignorance of the facts Roberts sets out.
I have no liking for either the Republicans or the Democrats — both are complicit here and both are mainly filled with unprincipled opportunists — but it is important that Americans understand the truth. Otherwise, we will only get temporary palliatives and scapegoating, never the deep changes needed to prevent recurrences of this debacle. Shame on all politicians who are trying to use it to increase the power of the federal government.
George C. Leef
Raleigh, NC