I generally read Thomas Sowell’s columns and feel he is generally writing half-truths. Most of those half-truths are party-line talking points. His talking points in his Feb. 26 column, “Tax predictions can make educated people look silly,” need to be refuted since he again spoke to a generally held public misunderstanding. The problems of these chartered enterprises are generally thought to be the result of government failures.
Sowell was ranting about waste of taxpayers’ money by government agencies. He mentioned the Federal Reserve. Now he surely knows that the Federal Reserve system is not a federal agency or department as many people think. The Federal Reserve is a federal government-chartered enterprise. Think of the Washington-chartered private corporate schools. Each is given a “charter” to perform a specific duty. And they can make a profit doing it. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are in the same category: government-sponsored enterprises.
We need to have a clear understanding of who is responsible for what. If Washington-chartered schools fail to educate or if the schools scam the taxpayers, who is responsible for what?
Celia Louderback
Vancouver
