In Defense of Milken

In response to “His Only Crime Was Against the Old Guard,” by Murray Rothbard, Commentary, March 3:

Rothbard’s defense of Michael Milken as an antithesis of close-knit capitalists is somewhat akin to the pornographer’s defense of prostitution. It attacks marriage in the same way that Milken attacks prudent investment theories.

Maybe Milken had a right to exist. But where he went wrong--he failed, like many other pimps do, to tell his clients that his whores (junk bonds) were infected with every type of venereal disease known to man. His victims may not have died, but they have to live with the stigma for the rest of their lives.

AL FARRELL

Beverly Hills