John K. Galbraith

I was amused and delighted by John Kenneth Galbraith’s perspectives on the economy (Commentary, Nov. 20).

I’m a staunch believer in the free enterprise system, but to me it is abundantly clear that at times our system needs a restraining hand (corporation shenanigans financed with junk bonds, S&L; ripoffs, insider trading), and at other times a little boost (expanded health care, improved schools, upgraded infrastructure, environmental protection). The Republican administrations of the last 12 years seemed to think that only businessmen chasing profits know what is best for all of us in this country. So I laughed out loud when I read Galbraith’s comment: “ . . . what Wall Street thinks is right has no relation to the health of the U.S. economy. The notion that people associated with money have intelligence is a silly notion that we can dispense with in the aftermath of the Reagan-Thatcher-Bush era.”

SIMON BARNHART

Santa Barbara