N.R. Williams' July 23 letter,"A guiding light for the economy," states an interesting opinion with which I agree. After World War II, the governments of most Western countries intervened in the control and management of their national economies. This contributed to maintaining stable economic growth and improving the quality of life for the general public.
However, the serious economic downturn that started in the United States in the fall of 2008 drastically changed the minds of managers of many private enterprises and policymakers at public institutions. They began to pursue their own interests and paid less attention to their social responsibility and to public welfare. They are dominated by ego-oriented behavior.
These days, as many people suffer from diminishing job opportunities and anxiety about the future, the question of whether our future becomes brighter or not depends too much on the transformation of the mind-set of governing elites. They must keep in mind that national wealth is mainly created not by wealthy people but by industrious workers.