Doomed to repeat failure

Ron Hoff stated in his Nov. 9 letter that he is fearful of our country’s future, and he should be. But the problem is not President Barack Obama. The problem is the ignorance of the electorate who swallow the right-wing spin.

George Santayana stated, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The Great Depression was caused by the greed and recklessness of our financial institutions. New Deal reforms were put in place to prevent it from happening again. Post-World War II financial institutions were many, and they were regulated. Even with high taxes, our financial system was strong, and so was our industry, our middle class and “Made In America.”

Then came greed in the wrapping of selfish conservatism. This gave us deregulation, offshore accounts, outsourcing, worthless derivatives, financial elitism, “too big to fail” and a collapsing economy.

Just like in the Great Depression days, local economies learned that when customers are out of work, business is out of business.

Hoff’s children and grandchildren will probably not enjoy the freedom and opportunity that he did because, like him, too many of us forgot our history and did not remember our past.

Rich Magney

Spokane