Is it time for the Republicans to take over our government ??
After all, every time the Democrats have tried to fix the economy, the Republicans come along and tear it down. Everybody knows it is true.
I can remember recessions since Eisenhower. I remember the Vietnam War and the Great Society. I also remember Watergate and Whip Inflation Now buttons by Gerald Ford. I remember the long gas lines in the first oil embargo and how Jimmy Carter inherited, not only the shambled trust, but also an economy that needed to be fixed.
It's true that the Treasury Secretary, Paul Volcker, raised interest rates in efforts to reign in runaway inflation. Carter made great strides in moving America away from dependency on the Arab markets for our gasoline. But, the point being, that he handed off a blueprint for a future energy policy to the Reagan Administration, and it was ignored.
We went through a terrible recession with Reagan in 1981-1983. A lot of people lost their jobs. Unions and labor were not held in the highest regard, to say the least. The environment changed. If you had a job, you were afraid to leave it. Because you might not get another one? That was the environment in a lot of this country.
But the "shining city on the hill" and the "Great Communicator" language helped to continue the "Republican Revolution" until 1992.
Our debt had more than quadrupled. The deficits were at record highs. And it was time for a Democrat again. Bill Clinton answered the call.
And we all know the rest. Bill Clinton left the best economy in our lifetimes in the hands of George W Bush and he screwed it up good. Another huge taxcut, even larger than Reagan's, was intended to shrink government even more. After all, if there are no taxes, there are no government programs. Something a lot of Democrats seem to sometimes overlook.
So Bush left Obama the worst economic crash in 75 years and a stock market tumbling down and losing more than a million jobs every two months. The entire system was in danger of collapse. The Big Banks were in trouble. The automobile companies were in trouble. It was a mess.
But now, the auto companies are back. The Big Banks are doing better than ever. Wall Street is in record territory. And the average working American has lost income and lost ground. The wealth inequality is worse than it was before the Great Depression. Something has to be done.
I guess it's time for the Republicans again?
Or is that just too damn cynical?
kentuck
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