Reaganism, boiled down to its essence

Being a word guy, I got a kick out of this first paragraph of a letter we ran on our Sunday page:

Government is the problem. Stop it.

Although those two sentences actually make more sense, something about them reminded me of Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You!)"

The temptation was strong to edit the letter so that it stopped there. It would have been perfect, a statement of Reaganism boiled down to its minimalist essence. If Reagan were the coal, this would be the diamond.

But I left the letter alone. Here it is:

Government printing too much money

Government is the problem. Stop it.

It
is printing unprecedented amounts of money. Continuing will lead to
hyper-inflation. Remember the Weimer Republic hyper-inflation, when a
wheelbarrow full of money was needed for a loaf of bread?

It's
simple supply and demand. When the government effectively prints so
many dollars, the value of the dollar will eventually go down,
drastically.

For now, call all members of Congress and urge them to kill the “stimulus” (incredible pork-barrel, not stimulus) bill.

In the longer form, however, the message lacked purity. It gave you things to argue with; you could say, "Hmmm. I seem to recall the Weimar Republic had certain other problems that contributed to the devaluation of the currency, something more than the act itself of printing too much money." Nevertheless, I do love a good historical analogy. My favorite with regard to Weimar inflation is this: The night of the Beer Hall Putsch, until it was time to make their move, one of Hitler's aides bought three beers so the two of them and one other follower could blend in. The beers cost three billion marks. But you know, if I wanted to talk about runaway inflation, I'd probably cite something more immediate: Zimbabwe has to print new denominations every week, because prices double every day. (Then again, though, Zimbabwe has bigger problems that contribute to having to print the money, not vice versa.)

But that first paragraph was very enjoyable, esthetically speaking. It was like haiku or something…

9 thoughts on “Reaganism, boiled down to its essence”

  1. Workin' Tommy C

    “Do you believe in HYPERINFLATION, little boy?”
    So, you love the poetic aspect but what’s YOUR verdict on the veracity of the statements? Is just too silly an idea to respect enough by responding to the ideas involved rather than the awkward English?
    Do you think that the government virtually doubling the money supply will cause massive inflation? Will you be surprised at what happens later this year and next?

  2. Lee Muller

    The money being spent is money the government does not have. It will have to be repaid in the future, with interest, by taxing our children and devaluing the dollar.
    This is the first part of Obama’s campaign of class warfare and retribution. He intends that his supporters pay almost no taxes, but are carried on the backs of an ever-shrinking productive population in the private sector.

  3. Doug Ross

    Lee,
    “Who is John Galt?” may soon become the national catchphrase.
    I’m reading a biography of Lincoln’s experience in the White House in 1864. In it, they quote him as saying the one thing that other countries admire about the United States is the ability of the self-made man. Those days are long past. The government-made man is the norm now. Take the wealth, the innovation, the work ethic of a small few and spread it around for the sake of “communitarianism”.

  4. Capital A

    Reaganism truly boiled down to its essence concerns pulling a reverse-Robin Hood: Stealing from the middle class and poor while transferring even more wealth to the so-called elite.
    Another tangential aspect of Reaganism was circumventing the Consitution through illegal arms sales, thereby outfitting and training (Thanks, CIA!) the very same terrorist who would strike down a prominent landmark full of American citizens almost a decade and a half later.
    Just like the lionized man himself was, Reaganites are awfully “forgetful.”

  6. Lee Muller

    Doug,
    My top client put over $1 billion of construction projects on hold in the USA the day Obama wrapped up the nomination.
    I know several consultants who have already left the country. Their answer to Obama is to earn money outside the USA, legally pay no income taxes, and come back when he is driven from office. With a top tax rate of 11% in Ireland or zero in Arabia, it is an easy choice for them.
    When the socialist leader in France says Obama is more socialist than he is, you know we have a dud in the White House.

  7. Capital A

    Makes sense that you would be consorting with patriots of convenience with a dollar for your flag and the cha-ching of pocket change for your national anthem.

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