POST-GAZETTE - Res Publica Government is not the Solution to our Problem; Government is the Problem by David Trumbull -- January 28, 2011 We stand between two notable dates in 20th Century American history. Eight days after January 20th—the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Ronald Reagan’s first term as President, and eight days before February 6th—the centenary of Mr. Reagan’s birth. When President Reagan took office our nation was in a bad way. Decades of liberal Democratic policies (that the “me-too” Republicans of the day did not effective rebut) had brought us high taxes, even higher spending, neglect of our national defense, and lack of self-assurance on the world stage. We were in a serious recession with both high unemployment and high inflation. We failed to support our allies in the world, and our own citizens were held hostage by a fanatical dictator in Iran. At such a time, President Reagan delivered his celebrated First Inaugural Address. I quote freely from it, as my words cannot compare with his perfect phrases. From President Reagan’s First Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981 These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, 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.For anyone who lived through that time and saw how President Reagan—even with a Democratic majority in the House and, for most of his tenure, in the Senate—restored America to greatness, it is dismaying to see that we are right back where we were in 1980. Out of control spending in Washington has brought us to the brink of national ruin. The central government continues its attacks on the states and individuals. Increasing, we are no longer citizens of a free republic but the subjects of a political over-class in Washington. We neglect our historic friendships with the free nations of the world while our President bows to dictators. Oh, for another Ronald Reagan!
--30--
|