The problem with your lionization of Ronald Reagan and the frat boy is that they grew government as much or more then their Democratic counterparts. Ronald Reagan gave us the Department of Education. The frat boy grew government by about 30% and 2 wars on the credit card. (The issue isn’t the wars, it’s being unwilling to ask Americans to pay for them and instead borrowing that money from the Chinese)
So let’s put the blame squarely where it belongs. As Pogo observed “We have met the enemy and he is us”.
As long as the body politic (that’s us) rewards politicians with power and votes for spending other peoples money then that is what we will have. Even as republican politicians railed against the stimulus it seems most of them were anxious to take credit for the money in their states. They do this because they know it will gain them more votes then it will lose them.
My belief is that every politician and party will spend like drunken sailors if given the opportunity. They may want to appear to spend it on different things but in the end they will sped it to preserve their own power.
If we want to change that then we have to show politicians that wasting money is the sure path to the political trash pile. No more votes for bringing home the bacon.
Now the reality. There’s all sorts of “throw the scoundrels out” feeling. Collectively we have a very low opinion of our government regardless of party. But like always when we yell “throw out the scoundrels” we really mean those other scoundrels. Not our scoundrel. As long as that fact remains then there will be no effective change. Regardless of what party is at the titular helm.
And we resolve issues of spending, taxation and direction of the nation through the political process. With **unobstructed up or down votes **on priorities on spending, taxation and the direction of the country. With us holding the politicians accountable at the polls for success or failure. In other words the American Way as outlined by the Constitution so that we the people retain ultimate control of our government.
Of course that means we’re likely going to have a moderate, middle of the road approach to most problems that is unlikely to fully please either extremes on right or left. As we did for centuries until the invention of the so-called super-majority rule in the Senate.
The founding document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Today, however, just 21% of nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
Seventy-one percent (71%) of all voters now view the federal government as a special interest group, and 70% believe that the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors.
That helps explain why 75% of voters are angry at the policies of the federal government, and 63% say it would be better for the country if most members of Congress are defeated this November.
Just 27% believe their own representative in Congress is the best person for the job.
Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher had to spend the Soviet Union out of business. But GW, (and I admit, I was once GW’s biggest fan) has no excuse for giving all that money to Wall Street just days before leaving office.
Obama does everything he can to hurt the poor including keeping inner-city stuck in horrible public schools when they could be getting a great education from a private school for 1/2 our tax dollars. I don’t pretend to know what is in Obama’s heart, but judging him solely by his actions, one would have to conclude that Obama hates black folk.
The banks have all the power and will control this, it must STOP! They are making so much $$ which gives them the power…imo. With the gov. giving them $$$ on bad loans today I was told where some of the banks where getting up to 80% money back on bad loans and then turning around and selling the home to a buyer and making more $$ this is just wrong…and to think we all are paying for this chet to happen…](*,)
thats because the gov is giving them $$$ on the bad loan up to 80% is what I was told today…then they will turn around and sell it at 170k…this game is being played out every day! and them they get to write off the neg bal. of the old loan…just plain WRONG! and then we all are paying for this…No wonder people are flying into the IRS…LOL.:shock:
Sorry. Actually, the Dept of Education was signed into law in 1979 by Carter, probbaly one of the worst Presidents of recent times. The 1979 bill changed the Deptartment of Health, Education and Welfare (HUD) into the Depts of Education (with a separate Cabinet post) and the Dept of Health and Human Services.
Reagan, in his 1982 State of The Union Speech, said, “The budget plan I submit to you on Feb. 8 will realize major savings by dismantling the Department of Education”. And it was the policy of the Republican Party, throughout the 80s to do away with this Dept.:
“The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning”
Again, to clarify, George W. did the TARP bill. It was for $700 Bil. and was to deal with “toxic assets”, primarily the bad mortgagges that Fannie Mae sold. Of that $700 Bil (about $23 Bil. was never spent) it has all been paid back (with interest) except for about $12.5 Bil. (as of mast month).
Do not confuse the TARP bill with the later “Stimulis Package”. That was done under Pelosi and Reed and and was full of pork (some 912 “earmarks” worth about $16 Billion) which mostly went to local and state governments to have them avoid having to fire public service union members.
Obama has recently been trying to confuse the two, saying that he “inherited” the deficit from Bush. This is not true.
BTW: I am NOT saying that George W. was always right, far from it. There are many things I disagreed with him on. But one does have to keep the record straight, especially when so many are trying to re-write history.
Also, George W. was NOT a conservative. He was center-right.
switching military to a drone system would cut probably a million jobs. so many people count on the government contracts for employment. Although the future of wars is going that way, there’s billions at stake and it wont happen any faster than congress men voting away their raises, salaries, pensions, and benefits. good luck with any of that.
you know you really cant look back at what anyone has done in the past to figure out what to do in the future or present, the times change. The base of America’s problems are lawyers and lawsuits. These outrageous costs trickle into insurance companies and then healthcare and prescription costs. Most of our congressmen come from legal backgrounds. When the laws are on your side, how can you lose?