Another point is that there did seem to be a lot of waste and corruption in government when Reagan came to office, only a few years after Watergate, and many people on both sides of the aisle wanted to "drain the swamp" as much back then as in 2016. His lop-sided grin and cowboy demeanor made people think he was to be trusted, and that h…
Another point is that there did seem to be a lot of waste and corruption in government when Reagan came to office, only a few years after Watergate, and many people on both sides of the aisle wanted to "drain the swamp" as much back then as in 2016. His lop-sided grin and cowboy demeanor made people think he was to be trusted, and that he had a point in trying to weaken government and allow business to "do its thing," as though it were a moral force for righteousness that would always lead to prosperity if just left to follow its "noble" lights. A lot of this was presented to the public as a way of allowing the small business owner and entrepreneur an easier time, with fewer regulatory hurdles to either establishing or growing their businesses. Much less if anything was made of the benefits to multinational corporations and the very rich. And NAFTA was still more than a decade down the road (waiting for a Democratic administration to establish). It was also the Cold War, and the official dichotomy of the time was communism bad/capitalism good. Capitalism was equated with American values. There were prescient people at the time that saw where it was heading - even Reagan's VP, GHW Bush, called it "Voodoo Economics" when he ran for president, although he was a whole-hearted supporter and beneficiary - but the average person and many politicians and pundits back then had neither 40 years of hindsight nor direct experience with 11 years of Citizens United to guide their thinking.
Milton Friedman and Bill Clinton will surely share quarters in Hell. Ah, the intrinsic virtue of "the market." What's sad is that the "little guy" assumes the permits and licenses and review boards he has to wade through are same as people who would just sneer at the menial clerks and lawyers who make sure the boss is never the least bit bothered. My high school civics textbook was shiny propaganda about Soviet Union/Communism vs, just like you say: Capitalism=American values. How do you snap people out of the giddy entrancement of flattering slogans?
Another point is that there did seem to be a lot of waste and corruption in government when Reagan came to office, only a few years after Watergate, and many people on both sides of the aisle wanted to "drain the swamp" as much back then as in 2016. His lop-sided grin and cowboy demeanor made people think he was to be trusted, and that he had a point in trying to weaken government and allow business to "do its thing," as though it were a moral force for righteousness that would always lead to prosperity if just left to follow its "noble" lights. A lot of this was presented to the public as a way of allowing the small business owner and entrepreneur an easier time, with fewer regulatory hurdles to either establishing or growing their businesses. Much less if anything was made of the benefits to multinational corporations and the very rich. And NAFTA was still more than a decade down the road (waiting for a Democratic administration to establish). It was also the Cold War, and the official dichotomy of the time was communism bad/capitalism good. Capitalism was equated with American values. There were prescient people at the time that saw where it was heading - even Reagan's VP, GHW Bush, called it "Voodoo Economics" when he ran for president, although he was a whole-hearted supporter and beneficiary - but the average person and many politicians and pundits back then had neither 40 years of hindsight nor direct experience with 11 years of Citizens United to guide their thinking.
Milton Friedman and Bill Clinton will surely share quarters in Hell. Ah, the intrinsic virtue of "the market." What's sad is that the "little guy" assumes the permits and licenses and review boards he has to wade through are same as people who would just sneer at the menial clerks and lawyers who make sure the boss is never the least bit bothered. My high school civics textbook was shiny propaganda about Soviet Union/Communism vs, just like you say: Capitalism=American values. How do you snap people out of the giddy entrancement of flattering slogans?