Letters to the editor

Bear market

Why the panic? We're just returning to normal trading

Editor, The Times:

Good Lord! From the way the Democrats and the media are acting, you'd think that the stock market is collapsing and we are headed into a cataclysmic depression ("Fear soaring on Wall Street," Times, Business & Technology, July 20). One can easily see that what is happening is that the false bubble of the late '90s has burst and we are merely getting back to normal levels. We still have a long way to go to get back down to 1993 levels and I don't remember anyone being worried about a depression back then.

Does anyone not remember Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's warning of investors' overexuberance? He knew that it was a false bubble and he tried to warn investors, but they didn't want to hear it.

I always thought there was something fishy about this "great" economy during the '90s. It didn't smell right to me, but then, I don't invest in the stock market, so I just shrugged if off. I'm perfectly content to place my money in a secure savings account or IRA. I'm wondering why no one was questioning what was going on. Greed? Didn't want to rock the boat, maybe?

One must ask how these CEOs were allowed to get away with their cooking of the books during the late '90s. Where was the Securities and Exchange Commission? Where was former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin? Where was Congress' oversight committee? Why wasn't anyone watching these guys?

Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who pushed Congress to override President Clinton's veto concerning the relaxation of these accounting rules. Why isn't anyone asking Sen. Dodd why he felt compelled to do this? It wouldn't be because he's a Democrat ... now would it?
- Joy Ficken, Auburn

The company we keep

We could be shooting ourselves in the foot, and, in the end, have only ourselves to blame. Whether out of fear of losing my savings, out of greed of not making a profit this year, or out of anger at those corporate executives, the common good is being sacrificed for the sake of the individual. As more people are pulling their money out of the market, many good companies that employ many good people are facing some very hard times ("30,000 Boeing jobs gone forever?" Business and Technology, July 22).

I am not necessarily a fan of capitalism, because the system is grounded in the ideal of competition rather than cooperation. But now would be a good time to exercise a little cooperation and support all of these good companies and good employees who depend upon a steady source of capital in order to do business and make ends meet. If we don't begin to see that we are only hurting ourselves in this latest fit of panic, we will fail to see that we are partially responsible for this economic debacle.

Our corporate individualism is on the rise once again. We can scapegoat the corporate executives and politicians forever, but with our emotional mixture of fear, greed and anger, we are determining our own future.

And who is getting hurt the most in this process? The people who are the most vulnerable in our society are taking the brunt of this market downfall. Revenue for human-service providers is down 25 to 30 percent, paralleling the decline in the market. While some people are worrying about their individual pensions, more and more people are worrying about where to get their next meal.

Let us not forget that we also have a corporate responsibility to ensure that a lot of good people are not hurt by our fear, greed and anger. Otherwise, we only become like those at whom we are pointing the finger, instead of being the conscientious people we are for the common good of all.
- Ron Moe-Lobeda, Seattle

I-90 Tanker fire

Holding no truck

I am writing to express my outrage regarding the citation of the tanker driver in last week's I-90 tanker fire incident ("Tanker-fire site has been scene of many I-90 accidents," Local News, July 18).

To punish this truck driver is absurd. One has only to watch the better-than-thou motorist every day to know that no trucker can ever drive slow enough to avoid what happened. It was shown on television how this happened — a car cut in front of the truck driver, but it happens every day from my own observations.

The drivers who cut in like this are the same people who think they are too good to wait in the line of traffic exiting to Front Street — the same ones who come to a stop in the middle lane of I-90 with their right-turn blinkers on.

I drive through this exact spot every day and I want to know why there is never any patrol in this area. I have written to the Highway Patrol, but to date, have never seen any form of patrol in the stretch from 900 to Front Street. This is a potentially deadly stretch of highway and it seems to be ignored entirely.

The truck driver should not be blamed because a car cuts in front of him and jams on the brakes! Unfortunately, it is not against the law to be rude, but it should be against the law to cause potentially lethal situations because of rudeness.
- Paula Courter, Issaquah

Viaduct views

Less is the pity

I would like to propose a unique solution to the viaduct replacement option: Let those who pay have the view. If downtown property owners want to cough up $11 billion to put the viaduct in a dark tunnel, then they are welcome to do that. Otherwise, let those of us who will pay for the replacement enjoy those incomparable views.

I am, quite frankly, a little tired of hearing that those of us who prefer the elevated option lack vision. I have a vision too: that the lovely views of Elliot Bay and the Olympics will continue to be available to all of Seattle's residents, not just those lucky or wealthy enough to have a view at home or work. It is often those unexpected magic views that have a way of turning a day around and, let's face it, we can all use more rather than less of that.
- Frances Hinson, West Seattle

In the strike zone

We're outta here

Recently, I reached in my pocket for a quarter to put in the paper box, only to discover that a hole had appeared in the bottom and all my change had fallen out. My mind traveled to the debating sides of greed in the current baseball dispute ("The madness of a baseball strike," editorial, July 17).

While I have long since been priced out of game attendance, I couldn't help but reflect on how, time and again, the American sports fans have proven themselves to have the deepest pockets in the world. If the baseball players and owners cannot find compromise and common ground to prevent a strike, they may very well find themselves reaching into empty pockets in the future.
- Michael Boothby, Seattle

Kernel of wisdom

Rummaging through some old baseball treasures the other day, I found this little gem, felt like sharing.

"The great trouble with baseball today is that most of the players are in the game for the money that's in it — not for the love of it, the excitement of it and the thrill of it." — Ty Cobb, 1925.
- Alan Hemmen, Seattle