Letter to Editor, New York Times

The following letter was sent to the Editor of the New York Times regarding an interview with Arthur Levitt, former head of the Security and Exchange Commission.


Editor, Magazine
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018

Deborah Solomon’s interview with Arthur Levitt neatly delineated the rationale for the rage and sense of betrayal felt by the millions of Americans who watched helplessly as their 401k’s and homes lost 40% of their value. This double whammy of fortune reversal was unapologetically delivered by the likes of Mr. Levitt and cronies cozily ensconced in their ill-gotten, nepotistic lairs courteously provided by Wall Street’s pin striped foxes supposedly guarding Main Street’s hen houses. Mr. Levitt’s rampant arrogance (“don’t feel right about spending large sums of money in this environment” regarding his Far East vacation) and ignorance (“capture theory” whereby regulators become co-opted by the industries they regulate”) provide damning evidence for the indisputable verdict of “GUILTY.” Main Street judges as completely unacceptable Mr. Levitt’s pathetic excuse that Bernie Madoff’s “reputation was as a trader, not a money manager.” Main Street will never understand nor forgive the obscene compensation insanely provided to and unethically accepted by financial leaders whose folly and incompetence plunged their firms into billion dollar losses. The failure, better stated as refusal, of Mr. Levitt, his S.E.C. and other regulatory agencies to discharge their responsibilities at even the most basic level destroyed the country’s confidence in its financial institutions causing systemic damage irreparable for years to come.

James Wharton