I think the Sun Journal asked the wrong people about the $700 billion bailout of several financial institutions.

Bank managers are good, hard-working people, but they are there to make money for the bank. They basically accept money from the public, for which they pay interest. To make money, they loan part of the public’s money to others at a considerably higher interest rate, for mortgages, auto loans, etc. Those loans are regulated by the federal government, which may require a down payment, a credit search and other things from the loan applicant. These regulations, if abused or broken by the bank managers, can result in imprisonment. That, in fact, happened as a result of the infamous savings and loan debacle that occurred years ago.

So who is to blame? Is it the regulator (federal government) or the bank managers?

The truth is slowly coming out, and it appears the feds should accept most of the responsibility. In 1994, government officials decided to rewrite the Community Reinvestment Act, created during the Carter administration. That act basically limited homeowner loans to those who could afford it. The rewrite, unfortunately, made loans available to those who could not afford it. Greed is also a driving force, of both the finance company managers and the politicians to help finance their campaigns.

Society is driven by the me-me-me mentality, and everyone suffers because of it.

Bob Calawa, Hartford