Basil Bernard is President of Apricot Office Supplies and Office Furniture USA South Florida, a Miami Gardens-based business that began in 1986. The company has 25 employees in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Q: Given the current economic crisis and credit crunch, what should the government be doing?

The government should first look at the root cause, the mortgage loans that people find difficult to pay. If they had addressed that when the folks on Main Street first started saying we have a problem, we wouldn't be where we are.

Q: But what you're talking about is individual homeowners. What do you think should be done for these big businesses?

Fix the root of the problem. We're having a problem because of the homeowners.

For example, Joe Blow in Miami, Florida buys a house for $300,000 at X percentage per month. Somebody else bets on the fact that the interest rates will go up so they will enjoy the difference between what the adjustable-rate loan started out at. But then [the mortgage] gets resold again, to the speculators who are thinking they'll enjoy the upside.

The folks expecting the upside are now in a situation where they can't pay their investors. It precipitates a system collapse.

Q: How do you think these congressional reforms will affect the local economy here in South Florida?

It's not going to reach the average person. These bigger banks, when they buy the smaller ones, the first thing they're going to do is cut staff .

The American economy works best when there is a receptive environment for the smaller business.

We've seen over and over again, once larger companies are allowed to get bigger , it does not fare well for the economy. The middle class is losing , and unless Congress realizes that the health of the middle class is what had made this country great, then we'll have a problem.

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