I absolutely do not want to be misunderstood. Investment and mortgage bank CEOs, hedge fund managers and others, responsible in large part through their fraud and corruption, greed, or sheer stupidity for the financial mess in which our country and indeed the world find themselves, need to be punished. In the case of criminality, wrongdoers need to prosecuted and severely punished to the full extent of the law. In cases of greed and stupidity, their compensation needs to be diminished to the maximum extent possible — -what an incredible performance disincentive “golden parachutes” are! You’re rewarded as well for screwing up as you are for successful performance.

However shameful, abhorrent and damaging the conduct of these people has been, I believe an even more insidious threat to the American way of life are those pushing the concept of “equal results” as opposed to equal opportunity. In the case of the current economic fiasco, this has been manifested in the push to grant mortgages to those who, under normal circumstances, would not have even come close to qualifying for one, could not remotely afford the mortgage payments, or had little or no intention or ability to maintain the home once they attained ownership. This incredibly wrong-minded concept has precipitated and is at the heart of the current economic crisis.

Foisting of the “equal results” concept on American society has not been limited to home mortgages. It has been implemented in other areas, most notably in education and hiring. In education, the result of the “dumbing down” (so all can be equally “successful”) has been the decline in performance of American students relative to the rest of the world. This has been especially true in mathematics and science, where excellent performance is particularly crucial to the continuing success of our country. Native intelligence, willingness to work hard, and plain luck are not granted in equal measure, and therefore outcomes will vary considerably. Rather than trying to guarantee equal results, what’s needed to be insured is equal opportunity, so whatever intelligence and quotient for hard work an individual possesses can be exercised to the fullest.

This country is in dire need of an infusion of integrity and the application of a major dose of hard-headed common sense.