March 28, 2024

Letters: Letters: Symbols vs. Causes

Re “A Lasting Shadow” (Dec. 11), which looked at the effects of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme three years after his arrest:

Continuing to serve up Mr. Madoff as “a symbol of our troubled financial times” distracts from the real problems and broken regulatory systems that have led to our troubled financial times. Everyone agrees that Mr. Madoff broke the rules. But the damage done by those acting as allowed by our ineffective rules costs the public much more.

“Our troubled financial times” are the product of a bubble economy fueled by cheap money, an abject failure by rating agencies, regulatory agencies that have been hamstrung by regulations written by financial lobbyists, and a laserlike focus by some bank leaders on yearly bonuses. With the possible exception of the Federal Reserve, no entity in our current financial world focuses on stability, sustainability and success.

There has been no serious attempt to address any of these problems. Mr. Madoff’s antics, like those of professional wrestlers, seem just an entertaining diversion. Chris Cannon

San Francisco, Dec. 11

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d4eeb9253775bd6a078935a581f57b3f

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