Looking back at the last several months of the economic crisis, we have seen governments federal, state, and local scramble to find solutions to heal the wounds inflicted on the financial and corporate sectors in order that the recession might not deepen. Many of the solutions and implementations have been controversial, but the mnatra most often heard has been that to do something, even if it is imperfect, is better than not doing anything at all.

I am not a financial expert, so I cannot speak to the effectiveness of various economic policies, but I do know that many of our people in West Dallas, just as in many similar communities throughout the nation, are also feeling the pain, and many are experiencing private crises of their own...