In the tradition of comparative presidential political economy, consider the following:
"With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America at peace with itself and the world."
Does this sound like George II's administration?
No, sadly, no.
America "at peace with itself and the world" certainly sounds like a very attractive notion this time of year. Mistletoe, ivy, holly, frankincense, and myrrh etc.
However, and again, sadly, the following certainly does ring true:
"These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions…our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people."
Better actor than economist, Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address on January 20th, 1981, presciently describes the world as it is today. Sadly, Neither of the successors George could ever fix the problems he describes. The poor Georges, always off on some power trip abroad, ignoring trouble brewing at home.
I wonder if that could be a pattern:
"Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, causing human misery and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.
"But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.
"You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?"
Indeed, do people realize the extent of human misery and personal indignity that those who do work suffer by penalizing successful achievement, creativity, innovation and hindering productivity, quality, quantity, and purchasing power?
Of course, the tax burden still chokes business and individuals today. "Deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present." Amazingly prescient. Short-sighted time preference in the hands of robbers, butchers, and thieves sounds much like the dehumanizing modern democracy.
The words are so familiar and so simply true. And yet, I continuously have to argue with people, in similar terms, that "you and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?" Why can't the current administration understand? It is not beyond the grasp of even a child.
Yet, I believe, Reagan errs here and there in a minor conclusion he draws:
"Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it is not my intention to do away with government. It is, rather, to make it work, work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it."
Too bad. Intentions, intentions. And yet, earlier in the speech, he identifies the correct solution. Sending the people who live on this land off with a brilliant vision to begin life anew:
"We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding, we are going to begin to act, beginning today."
Providing opportunity and fostering productivity can best be satisfied by the enterprising individual with their own desired future state in mind. Starting now, Reagan calls for a renewed and determined spirit to combat the accountable:
"The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we, as Americans, have the capacity now, as we have had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom."
Amen. Preserve and protect private property and individual liberty.
We, as Americans, individually.
"Our Government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed."
I could not agree more. Beyond the consent of the governed sounds almost too polite. Reversing the growth of the government is exactly why people have turned their states red on election day for the past twenty years. And yet, it is precisely these republicans in name only who have strayed so far from Reagan's wisdom. Those pour souls completely out of touch with the resurgence of the Old Right. All the while, adoring an airport, and a mountain with his name, and screaming hysterically over nothing more than a useless television program.
However, Reagan gets even better, now whispering into the ears of the powerbrokers in Washington as a warning:
"All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government."
Time to start lighting the fireworks. The Grand Ole Party is getting a lesson in history.
November 7, 2003
