Seeds of destruction have been sown

To the editor:

The economic theory of capitalism has been considered in England, the United States and other nations as the system most beneficial for society and the counterargument to systems featuring centralization of authority by the few.

The basic assumption of capitalism is that unimpeded decisions of individuals in their own best interests in a free market that determines prices, production and distribution of goods and services best serves the aggregate economy.

The major obstacle to the capitalist system of freedom and efficacy of individual economic choice was the contrivance by Wall Street tycoons of a surreptitious entity immune to the free market in the Federal Reserve Act (1913). The Great Depression of the 1930s was a direct result of Federal Reserve actions of the 1920s and was only ameliorated by Glass-Steagall legislation overriding Wall Street excesses.

The stimulus for the recent economic downturn was Federal Reserve prodding of Gramm-Leach-Bliley which in the 1990s overturned Glass-Steagall and reopened the floodgates of Wall Street abuses which continues unabated.

In the current technological period, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street have coalesced into a monopolistic structure perpetuating financial tycoon enrichment, oblivious to external circumstances, and sowing the seeds of destruction by disregarding the 99 percent of the population.

George Black

Iowa City