Ronald Reagan: Messiah or Pariah

Ronald Reagan the 40th President of the United States is considered a messiah by some but falls far short of that heady title by many others. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. considered him the worse President the US has ever seen (that is until G.W. Bush). For those who admire Ronald Reagan, they believe he swept in an era of conservatism. "Bringing back Reagan conservatism" was a mantra during the recent election.

Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy were well known to consult their horoscopes every day. But it may have been better had they consulted a psychic who could look into the future of the policies they foisted onto the American people.

Ronald Reagan believed in his cowboy righteousness. He believed in the ultimate battle of good versus evil. The US versus the evil empire of the USSR. He swept into power on the coattails of a botched rescue of American hostages in Iran. Never mind there are currently over 300 change orders to the seals of the helicopters that failed during the desert rescue under the administration of Jimmy Carter. The US was at a low place then with the unpopularity and eventual pullout of Vietnam, the resignation of "I am not a crook" Richard Nixon and overall distrust of government.

He served a purpose in rejuvenating Americans pride in their country that was sorely missing. But he brought in much more than pride; he ushered in an era of greed commonly known as the 1980's and 1990's consummating in the debacle we are seeing today. Looking at a pie chart of taxes paid during the 1950's and 1960's the lion's share was paid by corporations. That same pie chart today shows the lion's share of taxes being paid by individuals and the foundation of giveaways to corporations was laid during his presidency.

He was led by a party of corporate CEO's. Some say he led the party, while historically it has been proven that the party led him and that party was driven by greed. Labor unions were a great impediment to corporate CEO's and Reagan spearheaded the efforts to bust them up starting with the Air Traffic Controllers. The CEO's knew from prior experience that labor unions were strong and not afraid to stand up for their members. Some credit the industrial revolution to the organization of labor and the creation of the middle class. But the middle class demanded fair and equitable pay for their work and other benefits like 40 hour work weeks which is an antithesis to greedy CEO's. So under the mantra of conservatism, they systematically stripped middle class Americans of their rights to organize labor and they were very successful over the years.

If Ronny and Nancy would have looked into their crystal ball they would have clearly seen the results of their disastrous policies, like stripping labor unions of their power to protect workers, the war on drugs, etc. They may have seen the greed fostered and nurtured in their corporate CEO compatriots or the greed of local police and county attorneys in stripping innocent people of their property when accused of drug possession. One of the largest revenue streams currently in police and county budgets is the forfeiture of assets in drug cases. This particular policy has been redefined when parents found they were losing their homes, cars, and other possessions if their teenagers were found smoking pot. But nonetheless many of these constitutionally questionable policies remain on the books. Greed it seems is not confined to corporate CEO's.

There was a time when people cared about other people. When people believed that if they worked hard and were honest and upstanding, they would succeed in this country. That time is long gone thanks to Ronny and Nancy Reagan. Now people scoff at hard work and honesty. In fact those that work hard are considered stupid. Those who care about their families the same as their communities are considered childish. You heard it yourself during the recent election as Republicans scoffed at community organizers.

Our country has prospered because of the middle class. Many people have become rich because all Americans have agreed to self-taxation for the better good to create stability in all aspects of our lives. Self-taxation builds roads and bridges to move goods; self-taxation ensures our laws are upheld creating stability in domestic and international trade.

Remember Sarah Palin scoffing at Joseph Biden, the Vice-President elect when he said he would be happy to pay more taxes. If anyone thinks paying taxes is antiquated, just look at any third world country where payoffs to government officials to practice business and move goods is common; expensive private security guards are a necessity to protect themselves, their families and their workers from being kidnapped. People who do business in these countries easily understand that the cost of American taxes and the government services provided are a real bargain.

But that cost must be borne by all equitably. In other words those who benefit the most from the services provided should pay the most. Our progressive tax rates are meant to do just that. But our continual election of corporate lawyers as our government representatives have created far too many loopholes for sleezy corporations and corporate CEO's to slime their way through shifting tax burdens away from themselves and onto the backs of those that can least afford it - the middle class. Many people don't seem to understand G.W. Bush's tax break means the middle class tax pays 4% while rich Americans pay .04%, less than one half of one percent. Don't forget that G.W. is a "compassionate conservative" - or compassionate about keeping the rich rich and the middle class in their place. He was elected on the coattails of Ronny Reagan's conservative era.

Ronny Reagan, messiah or pariah - you decide.