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In the early 60′s, a college friend introduced me to “Conscience of a Conservative” by Goldwater. My friend explained that if government does not interfere it allows business to function efficiently. Business grows and profits and the result is good for everyone. Sounded like a great idea.

Conservative economic leaders believe in the axioms of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. The concepts of less regulation and lower taxes have indeed allowed business to flourish through the 1980s and 90s.  These axioms assume, however, that corporate leaders can be trusted to make decisions that are for the common good. The great American machine wants to allow everyone in the society to flourish.

Have the last several decades proved conservative economists wrong? When Enron failed and appeared corrupt, was that an exception? When AIG needed government bailout, did that deny the validity of the conservative concept? When financial wizards invented the CDS (Credit Default Swaps), were they using the rules of Goldwater?  When mortgage companies devised tricky loan documents for vulnerable “sub prime” customers, were they using the guides of Reagan?

How can we trust business again? The current economic crisis is resilient because of fear – people with money are reluctant to loan because they fear borrower default. What can be done to allow us to trust again? How do we fix the trust problem?  Some conservative genius must answer this question.