from Sunday New York Times Magazine
Interview with Arthur Levitt
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: January 22, 2009
Q: As the former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is supposed to protect the American people from investment fraud, how do you feel when you look at the current economic landscape and see 401(k)’s going up in smoke?
A: I feel saddened. I feel saddened that so many people have been hurt; that, on reflection, we’ve all acted foolishly. We’ve spent too much money on too many frivolous things.
Yes, it's true -- I have been guilty of frivolous spending. Example: for many years I frittered away large sums on hardback, lavishly illustrated cookbooks, mostly purchased on-line, by big name chefs (Batali, Bittman, Pepin) --knowing full well that most (or equivalent) recipes could be accessed via websites, no charge, no shipping fee. This indulgence was dispensed with several years ago, but I'm still guilty of other frivolities (2 ply bath tissue, fresh mozzarella) and am therefore, I suppose, as guilty as Madoff for the current economic State of the Union.
Certainly I share more responsibility than Mr. Levitt, who points out later in the interview that he "canceled a vacation to the Far East that [he] had planned for the spring" because he didn't "feel right about spending large sums of money in this environment." But in my defense I would like to point out that were I able to make such a sacrifice I would not hesitate a minute.
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