FORMER CEO at BB&T Bank, John Allison, is now heading up the Cato Institute.  BB&T, lead by Allison, was one of very few banks that didn’t succumb to the government-induced incentive to originate mortgages to people who couldn’t really afford them (sub-prime), and hence came through the GFC relatively unscathed.  The BB&T Philosophy, thanks to Allison, is grounded in reason, and one of the best I’ve seen.  I’ve based my own companies’ guiding documents largely on these – they’re that good.

From his blog post, Thoughts on Joining Cato Institute:

“We must be free to think for ourselves if we are to be productive, creative, innovative, and happy. By definition, all human progress is based on creativity (innovation). Unless someone does something better (that is, different), there can be no progress. Creativity is only possible for an independent thinker. If someone forces you to act as if 2 plus 2 is 5, you cannot think. Government regulations often force decision makers to act inconsistently with what they know to be correct, discouraging productivity and lowering our standard of living.”