At Least They're Trying to Be Good

I've fallen behind in my posts and I'm certain that most of the class has been holding its breath while waiting for another word from Jeff. Okay, maybe not, but since I have missed a class I wanted to touch back to a point from a few weeks ago and then post another comment about environmental ethics. The point I wanted to re-examine was the notion of just systems. I think we were discussing the idea of being blindfolded in a "veil of ignorance" in order to determine a fair set of rules. I know this was a while ago, and we've since moved on, but it is really interesting to me and I'd like to explore it further when it is time for the class presentation. What got me thinking about this topic again was the constant appearance of the global financial crisis on the head of most of the newspapers that I have come across. There are rapid changes being made to financial policy in order to avoid an economic recession or worse. If the economy can be controlled so quickly when times are desperate, is it not possible to keep this kind of control when times are not? Can the federal government take a more active role in every stage of the economic cycle to benefit the country and/or global economy?
It brings me back to the question about a just system. Who is ultimately responsible for the outcomes of a bad system? Is a recession a fair punishment for poor performance in our country? A slap in the hand for making false promised to potential investors or a financial timeout for those who did not responsibly examine their own net value? This is probably not the case since there are more stakeholders being affected than just the mortgage and credit market in the United States. There are also thousands of factors that contribute to economic downturns (I hear one of which, is simply saying the word "recession" out loud). If we cannot repair the broken system, I think it is best to smooth out the bumps whenever possible. This is my sense of a just system. It cannot provide a happy life for everybody who lives within it, but it can react to minimize negative outcomes wherever possible.
This is a gross oversimplification, but I'm still getting my feet wet in applying philosophical concepts. I'm just thinking bail outs (such as the Bear Sterns acquisition by JP Morgan) mark the underpinnings of a just system. When written rules fail to prevent the unethical treatment of the economic system, it is good to see that there are ways to preserve order.
It's tough to stop writing these things once you've started, isn't it?