Gilbert Millner (“Worldwide depression again?, Globe, Sept. 20) is to be commended for his excellent summation of the mortgage mess and how we got there.
I agree with his conclusion that there is little the average citizen can do about it except hunker down, stay out of debt, and vote for McCain as the lesser of two evils. What a shame that Michael Bloomberg isn’t running for president. The nation needs leadership and all we get from both candidates is pandering.
A major obstacle to recovery is a national mentality of entitlement as opposed to self-reliance. This downward spiral into self-pity, daily stocked by the national media and epitomized by hurricane coverage, is the antithesis of the character that made America great.
I wish I had a solution, but a good start would be a national usury law and an end to predatory lending. It might be that economic recovery will be so painful as to change our behavior. Imminent are at least three more crisis that Congress and the public refuse to ace: credit-card bankruptcies, health care, and immigration. Crank up the presses! The bailouts have only begun!
James R. Wheeler
Joplin
