History, unless it is rewritten, will record Ronald Reagan as the exception to more than a century of mediocre Commanders In Chief. As George Washington set the moral bar after which no other President has been able to attain; so Ronald Reagan set the economic and patriotic bar that no President since him has even approached. Certainly we are a nation divided against itself as greatly as it was during Lincoln's tenure; and our economy has retreated below that of what Ronald Reagan himself inherited.
The Reagan era was:
1. The first era in 50 years that the private sector share of the economy was not reduced by government expanding its share of the economic pie faster than economic growth. In fact, government's share was reduced for the first time. Reagan believed that government was part of the problem, not the solution to America's problems.
2. Federal social spending ratios stopped rising, and fell, for the first time in over 3 decades. Lyndon Johnson's social programs, aggravated by Carter's ineptness and reluctance to make hard and necessary decisions had Americans facing double digit inflation, double digit unemployment, and double digit mortgage rates prior to Ronald Reagan taking office.
3. The early 1980s was the first interruption in the rapid up-swing of federal regulatory activity spending in 2 decades. In fact, during the 1980s, spending declined in real terms - - only to resume its fast upward pace in the 1990s.
4. Taxes were reduced by large amounts, and the economy expanded together with a new climate of competition and regulatory burden reductions. This resulted in higher employment, which in turn provided greater revenue to the government.
5. A decade of declining real median family income was reversed to the upside. In 1978, I purchased my first home - at a 24% interest rate. When rates dropped under President Reagan and I refinanced, my disposable income increased by 16%.
6. Double digit inflation and interest rates were eliminated as mentioned above.
7. Debt increased due to lack of congressional spending cuts following tax cut approval, but debt ratios were higher 9 years later. Still, when President Reagan left office, the debt ratio was 54% compared to 71% under President Clinton.
8. International terrorism was faced head-on. While nations like Iran and Libya thumbed their noses at President Carter, they saw in Ronald Reagan someone willing to stand up to them. The Soviets found out that Reagan was not only able to build a larger missle defense system but was willing to use them in defense of our nation.
9. The Evil Empire was brought to its knees, without increasing the defense spending ratio, ending a 40-year cold war. I served in Berlin, Germany during the Carter years. Berlin was the spy-capital of the world then. Anytime Americans visited East Berlin we were shadowed by Soviet and East German military. 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain, the Soviets in East Berlin were brazen. On one occasion, they informed us that they would fire a dummy round into our compound to prove how powerful they were. As stated, a round fired from over 20 miles away landed on the 40 yard line of our football field. Our mission was not to defend Berlin should an attack come, but to destroy intelligence before the enemy could get to it. We were expected to hold off an attack for no more than 30 minutes before being overrun. A decade later, Ronald Reagan had the Soviets tearing down the Berlin Wall and the nation of Germany reunited. This was preceeded by the mighty Soviet army being forced out of Afghanistan by freedom fighters supported by American weapons and money. Ronald Reagan was not afraid to tackle those who prey on the weak or who threatened democracy.
10. A 2-decade slide in voter turnout and citizen trust in government was reversed, only to collapse to new lows in the 1990s. Ronald Reagan won by embarrassingly wide numbers in both elections. That record was only reversed in the last election as unprecedented numbers turned out to vote, not so much for President Obama, but for change that would hopefully improve the lives of angry and frightened Americans. So far that change has not been positive.
During the last election, many candidates - even those on of the opposite party evoked Ronald Reagan in an effort to appeal to the American voter. Regardless of party, Ronald Reagan was respected and loved by Americans for his positive attitude, his humor, his great ability to communicate, his steadfast focus on defeating communism, and the way he treated everyone around him. People knew that Ronald Reagan cared about them and about America. He had confidence in the people and in America's potential for good in this world.
We need another Ronald Reagan...but he, or she, has yet to step up. Perhaps that's as it should be. George Washington reluctantly left retirement three times to serve our country - each time because he knew that someone had to lead. We must be careful to not lightly entrust our freedoms to those who wave their hands most frantically for the position. Let us look towards that person who's vision in not based on their ideals but on America's founding principles of smaller government, more liberties for the citizen, to live within our means rather than indebtedness, who will protect our nation and represent America abroad as the apex of civilization where free men and women cooperate for a greater good.
No comments:
Post a Comment