I can say with great confidence that there is no more powerful force-per-unit on this planet than the human being. Each of us holds the greatest capacity for good and the greatest capacity for evil. That's why it's so incredibly important that we are united in promoting ethical institutions that reward only good behavior and reject bad behavior.

That's the biggest problem with this so-called bailout bill that cavaliered through the House of Representatives. This bill rewards bad behavior at all levels of commerce. At the lowest level, the bailout rewards folks who carelessly lived outside their means. At the medium level, this bill rewards unscrupulous bankers who sold loans backed by nothing. And at the highest level, this rescue package would reward Congress for force-feeding subprime loans down the throats of our financial institutions.

If we had rejected this bailout, we would have had tough economic times for about a year, as the markets adjusted toward funding good investments while rejecting bad investments. But now we'll reward the same terrible behavior that caused this mess in the first place. And as B.F. Skinner so eloquently proved, if we reinforce bad behavior, we'll get even more of the same.

Dr. Steven LeBoeuf, Raleigh

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