Yearning for Those Reagan Days!

In a simplistic nutshell, Republican philosophy boils down to a few things, like smaller government for example.  Republicans, in general, believe that the Government does not have all the answers and that the best government governs least.

 It’s difficult to speak of smaller government without contrasting it to a rather large one. But it should be somewhat self evident how expensive it is to run our huge, bloated Federal government these days.  People want this and that but nobody wants to actually pay for it.  The knee jerk reaction from our brilliant president is;  “Make the RICH pay”.   But is it fair to take money from rich people who have earned it?  And if we do, who says what is “rich” and where does it stop?  Even young college socialists would agree that it’s ok until they go to work, earn a few dollars, and then someone tries to officially take it from them.  I knew some of them in the early 80’s.  They came to vote Republican as soon as a business was up and running.

A large, bloated government that grants benefits to everyone requires high taxes to run. John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who defined judicial review said it best; “The power to tax is the power to destroy”.  Why would he put it that way?  Does taxation actually hurt people?  Certainly the American Revolution against England was fought largely over colonists taking offense at high taxes.

 It is important to remember that government does not have to do actual work to take taxes from people who do.  In essence, the person who labors with his or her own sweat to earn money hands a portion of that money over to something that did nothing to earn it.   Government is a “non product’ business.  It does not make a product.  Yet we need some of it. We need the security that comes from police protection and a judicial system that enforces private agreements and public laws.  These things create stability that, in turn, encourages free enterprise that hires people and pays them. Then they can feed and clothe their families and pay taxes.

Republicans believe in the limited role of government to protect personal property and individual rights.  So Republicans believe in the basics of police protection and good roads.  Those two things encourage business, which in turn hires more people to pay taxes. Republicans, in general, would not support paying for prisoners to have sex changes or for our president’s two dozen new Czars, with incomes between $150k – $180k a year, with labels like, Auto Recovery Czar, AIDS Czar, California Water Czar, Faith-Based Czar, International Climate Czar, and the list goes on and on.  By the way, what on earth does a “Faith Based Czar” actually do?  It’s a depressing thought. And though Republican presidents have had some of these types of people, our current president has tripled the number just like he has stood by and watched our national debt do the same.

 So what is a good Republican to do for the next four years?  Yearn for the good old Reagan days where one could open a newspaper and find a “Jobs” section of over 10 pages. Today that sounds like a fantasy, a dream.  Yet, when Reagan took office we were in a recession, a slump.  And when he left we were riding high in jobs, spandex, big hair and heavy metal.  Though we may not want a return to the spandex, big hair may make a comeback.  One thing is certain.  We will not grow our economy in such a big way as long as we have a debt laden, bloated government that spends like printing money and taxing the wealthy is the best solution.

The Writer, Attorney Cheri Felos, is Chair of the Republican Women of Bristol/Norfolk Counties