Retired Lincoln National Corp. CEO Ian Rolland still chuckles - in amazement more than amusement - when he recalls a TV reporter's question following the financial services company's release of particularly strong quarterly earnings.

“He asked, ‘What are you going to do with all that money?' He had no idea of how business works,” Rolland said.

Neither do millions of Americans, apparently, which is scary.

Or perhaps they do but simply don't care - which is scarier still.

Rolland's recollection is timely in the wake of a recent Rasmussen Reports survey showing that only 53 percent of Americans believe capitalism is better than socialism. Twenty percent prefer socialism and 27 percent are clueless and don't care one way or the other.

The recession and Wall Street's well-publicized failings no doubt help explain that less-than-stout defense of the nation's traditional economic system. As Rolland noted, “If you don't have health insurance or had your house foreclosed on, it's hard to keep a positive attitude.”

But Rolland and other local business leaders say capitalism and free markets remain vital to the nation's future prosperity, and they worry that a lack of understanding of appreciation for their benefits - among the public and politicians alike - could make an economic recovery slower and more painful than it has to be.

Rolland, Star Financial Bank CEO Jim Marcuccilli and Junior Achievement President Lena Yarian were among a group of local business and educational leaders who met Friday with state legislators and Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett to discuss how to improve Hoosier students' financial literacy, and Rolland hopes northeast Indiana's nationally recognized JA programs can serve as a statewide model.

As the poll suggests, it couldn't come at a better time.

Rolland and Marcuccilli don't justify the actions of unscrupulous Wall Street sharks, nor do they oppose the regulation needed to promote transparency and protect investors. But both men fear some government “fixes” may make things worse by ignoring a rule of economic physics: What goes up must come down.

And that is especially true, Marcuccilli said, when the “bubble” was artificially inflated through private-sector greed and government meddling, such as federal programs that induced banks to lend money to homeowners who could not qualify for traditional loans.

In an effort to eliminate the business cycle (and unhappy voters, of course), the federal government has passed trillion-dollar stimulus packages, taken partial ownership in financial institutions and auto companies, proposed or passed huge tax increases and printed lots of money.

Rolland supports the “bailout” of banks. “One thing we learned in the Depression is that you can't let the banks fail,” he said.

But Marcuccilli noted that the federal government is refusing to give up leverage in some banks even after the institutions have repaid the loans.

Is that prudent? Or socialist? Either way, he fears the government's expansion of the money supply will fuel inflation - just as Rolland fears possible corporate tax increases will hurt American businesses at the very time they're needed most.

Which gets us back to that reporter's question. What do - or should - corporations do with the money they earn?

I know people who actually consider profits to be immoral. And some are, when earned through exploitation or dishonesty. But when companies profit by providing quality products and services at a price customers gladly pay, that is a moral and mutually beneficial exchange; one that puts some money aside for a rainy day while creating jobs, sustaining lives and, yes, paying taxes. Companies and employees alike also support charities, without which government would have to spend even more.

Socialism - which replaces the profit motive with a stifling sense of entitlement and government-imposed obligation, will kill the golden goose. “Capitalism produces innovation,” Rolland said.

As Yarian noted, the Rasmussen survey did not define its terms, so the support for “socialism” may be weaker than it appears. In an earlier survey, in fact, 70 percent professed support for a “free-market economy.” Nor is it surprising that support for socialism is strongest among Americans under 30. What's more “socialist” than being supported by parents? When you start earning your own money, you just naturally want to keep as much of it as possible, and not waste what you do spend.

Maybe that's why Rolland feels as he does.

“It will be different, and there will be more regulation, but I'm optimistic about free enterprise. The commitment is there,” Rolland said.

We'll see.