SIR – Terry Tordoff (Letters, June 16) is right to claim that greed is at the root of the financial crisis. He is wrong, however, to say it has developed almost overnight.
It is the result of a great many people wanting to have things they were not earning. Never has the rule that ‘if it looks too good to be true, then it’s not’ been more accurate.
Banks were greedy for interest on high-risk loans for which they didn’t properly provision. Borrowers were greedy for a lifestyle they could not afford. Governments were greedy for votes bought with money they didn’t have. Voters were greedy for government services, benefits and wages they weren’t paying enough tax for.
Only when we as a country get back to spending what we earn will we have got to grips with the crisis. In the short term, that will mean more pain; for the longer term, it must mean more responsibility.
David Herdson, Norwood Avenue, Shipley
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