Regarding the comment by Raymond E. Bowden (Voice, Sept. 22) on my article on the S&L fiasco, I must reject his suggestion that I ”get a chisel haircut or paint . . . (my) face green.” I believe that my current appearance is considered eminently respectable, and I intend to keep it that way.
As to what little there is of substance in his comment, I should point out again that there may well have been real losses to the economy from the S& L failures. These would be whatever buildings or houses were not built in Chicago or elsewhere as a result of bad loans for half-empty office buildings or depreciated homes in Houston or the yachts and other luxuries acquired by high-living S&L executives. But in all honesty, it is not clear that whatever might have been built elsewhere instead-or might not have been-is worth that much more than what the S&Ls financed.
In any event, those losses are in the past. We are currently faced with the problem of preserving the integrity of our money supply by seeing to it that S&L depositors do not lose their money. That is a financial matter that should be no excuse for socking current taxpayers.
Economics is not always simple and easy, but it is a pity that Mr. Bowden does not make more effort to understand it than to pen nasty personal letters defaming the profession and its practitioners.
