To the editor:

Wednesday’s column by Mike Hoeflich was correct. He asked us to pause and consider the consequences of a bailout. He asked us to understand financial instruments cooked up to look like something other than what they were.

In a letter to constituents, Nancy Boyda stated, “In the days leading up to the vote, we received over 2,000 letters, e-mails, calls and faxes from people in the Second District. Only about 100 of these contacts were form letters. The rest were thoughtful, personal letters that people took the time to write themselves. They were overwhelmingly against the bailout. Many were very angry. About 40 were in favor of a rescue package.”

In another letter, Boyda said, “Four hundred economists, including three Nobel laureates, suggested we slow down and get this right. It was widely agreed there are other and better alternatives for dealing with this situation.”

Mike, we do not need to be financial wizards to know when we are being hoodwinked.

Thomas Frank said in his recent Dole Institute speech that one of those financial geniuses made $3.4 BILLION in one year on these instruments. Is this guy one of the experts now claiming that the sky is falling so he can sell these worthless instruments back to the treasury and bill us taxpayers for the transactions?

Stu Nowlin,
Lawrence