Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Gluttony and greed caused the crash of 2009 and ultimately the Great Recession that our country has experienced. As an economics major, undergraduate, I read an article in 2007 that cautioned about the bubble bursting in the real estate market, warning people to not take out home equity loans to pay for cars, trips, or other depreciable items. Consumer confidence took a dive, after people lost their jobs, houses and 401(k)s. We were all taught a lesson, and rightfully so.

Bipartisan economists have stated that to recover from a crash of that magnitude, it would take at least five years. As a counselor at Peasley Middle School, I have witnessed families moving in together with friends or family members … sometime seven people in two-bedroom homes. One third of our school population of approximately 875 students receives free or reduced lunch. Churches and other service organizations banded together last year to provide food for 100 children in weeke...