Down The Rabbit Hole

The worst economy since the great Depression?

What a bunch of typical deceptive left-wing crapola. (My apologies to readers who are sensitive to the use of uncouth grammar, but sometimes there is no substitute.)

No, this is not the worst economy since the great depression, but it is the worst economy since our last leftist president, Jimmy Carter, was in office.

We Americans have many things to be proud of, but our grasp of history is not one of them. We are lucky to remember what we had for breakfast, much less recall the political and economic events of recent decades.

We have had it so good, for so long – and have become so spoiled and so clueless – that I wonder sometimes if we have all gone brain dead.

So you think your life is rough? Feeling a little low today? Tough times got you down, Bubby? Well, let’s take a little misery index test:

Did you eat today?

Are you wearing clothes?

Do you live in a climate-controlled shelter?

Are there shoes on your feet?

Are you free to read what you want, think what you want, and speak your mind openly?

Then welcome to America, friend! Whatever challenges you are facing, you are among the richest 5% of people alive on this planet. (The appropriate response now would be to fall down on your knees and thank God for the privilege of living in a place like this.)

Now that we have put things in perspective, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

When Ronald Reagan became president in 1981, he inherited an economy in shambles, and all the economic indicators looked much worse than anything President Obama has had to deal with. The economy was so bad, the press had to create a new word to describe it: stagflation. We had double-digit unemployment rates, a double-digit inflation rate, and double-digit interest rates.

Did President Reagan use this “crisis” as an opportunity to try to seize government control of the economy? Absolutely not! President Reagan believed in the power of free enterprise. He believed in the wisdom of limited government, and the ability of free people to create prosperity for themselves, and thereby, for the country as a whole.

His domestic agenda was simple: President Reagan cut taxes. He pushed through de-regulation of the energy and transportation systems. His goal was to reward entrepreneurs and allow people to keep more of the fruits of their labors. Thanks to Reaganomics, the economy went on a 20-year growth spurt, the longest period of prosperity in our history.

In foreign policy, President Reagan believed in peace through strength. He believed America was a great country that was destined to lead the world towards liberty. He built up the armed forces, especially the Navy, so that America could defend herself against any aggressor.

The American Left ridiculed him for his “Star Wars” missile defense proposals, but thanks to his foresight, we are continuing to develop a substantial, and successful, missile defense program, which is really coming in handy in this era of rogue terrorist states. If North Korea ever launches an ICBM towards our west coast, millions of Californians will owe their lives to Ronald Reagan.

Now let’s take a look at Obamanomics. Compared to the Reagan era, it is like we’ve fallen into a rabbit hole. President Obama says we need more government control.

The government needs to take over automobile companies and banks. We need the federal government in control of our health care system. We need to begin taxing “excessive” carbon use through Cap & Trade legislation. We need to raise gasoline taxes. We need to dictate what kinds of cars people can drive. We need to spend our way into “prosperity” by piling up trillions of dollars in debt that our children will never be able to repay.

President Obama’s foreign policy is even more disastrous. His groveling “world-wide apology” tours to Central America, Europe and the Middle East were the most embarrassing displays of appeasement in my lifetime. He is signaling to every tinhorn dictator on the planet that the USA will not be an advocate for liberty and human rights, because we don’t want to interfere with another nation’s business, however dirty that business may be.

Political prisoners of despotic states around the world have a new reason to weep.

And what about peace through strength?

For a man who can dump billions of dollars down the rat hole of government bailouts, without batting an eye, President Obama suddenly turns into Fred Mertz when it comes to the military budget.

So, Iran and North Korea are on the verge of ICBM capabilities? Well, let’s cut the missile defense budget. So, China is doubling the size of its navy? Let’s continue to cut back on ours. Under the Obama budget, every single sector of government spending is set to grow, except for defense.

One pesky detail that President Obama seems to have overlooked is the fact that our national defense is the federal government’s primary constitutional duty.

From where I sit, the future is looking pretty bleak. We have elected a president with no grasp of economic realities, no understanding of the dangers we face in the world, and have granted to him, via a Congress controlled by Democrats, almost unlimited power to reshape this country into whatever kind of socialist welfare state he can envision.

So, is this the worst economy since the Great Depression? No, not yet, but give it time. As President Obama likes to say, “We are just getting started.”