Why this long series with Ronald Reagan?

Simply because I cannot say it better, and because so much of what he said still has powerful relevance today.

Out of control

Can those who man the ship of state in these United States deny that it is out of control? Can the Obama administration deny this? Can Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid? Can even any one of our Republican Senators or Congressmen deny that the U.S. government is out of control?

Our national debt is approaching $12 trillion -- that would be a stack of $1,000-bills more than 800 miles high! The budget deficit this year alone is more than $1.3 trillion.

The total of each U.S. citizen's share of the national debt is $38,926 -- for every man, woman and child, while the Gross Domestic Product per citizen barely exceeds that amount ($39,591).

The INTEREST alone on our national debt in fiscal year 2009 was more than $383 billion.

Adding to our troubles is a mass of government regulations imposed on businesses by huge bureaucracies that add more than $250 billion to the price of things we all buy and reduces our ability to produce them.

The government -- at every level -- has become a huge funnel taking money (by force and coercion through taxes) from "producers" (i.e., working people and firms) and giving that money to (mostly) "non-producers." Non-producers are those who contribute nothing to the U.S. economy, adding nothing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Examples would be politicians, bureaucrats, and most entitlement program recipients.

Not to dream as we once dreamed

"[Some] say we must cut our expectations, conserve and withdraw, that we must tell our children… not to dream as we once dreamed." -- Ronald Reagan (1980)

Many of us are unhappy...

"Many of us are unhappy about our worsening economic problems, about the constant crisis atmosphere…, about our diminishing prestige…, about the weakness in our economy…, about our lack of strong, straightforward leadership. And many Americans today, just as they did 200 years ago, feel burdened, stifled and sometimes even oppressed by government that has grown too large, too bureaucratic, too wasteful, too unresponsive, too uncaring about people and their problems.

"Americans, who have always known that excessive bureaucracy is the enemy of excellence and compassion, want a change in public life - a change that makes government work for people. They seek a vision of a better America, a vision of society that frees the energies and ingenuity of our people while it extends compassion to the lonely, the desperate, and the forgotten.

"I believe we can embark on a new age of reform in this country and an era of national renewal - an era that will reorder the relationship between citizen and government, that will make government again responsive to the people, that will revitalize the values of family, work, and neighborhood and that will restore our private and independent social institutions. These institutions always have served as both a buffer and bridge between the individual and the state - and these institutions, not government, are the real sources of our economic and social progress as a people.

"That's why I've said… that we must control and limit the growth of federal spending, that we must reduce tax rates to stimulate work and savings and investment. That's why I've said we can relieve labor and business of burdensome, unnecessary regulations and still maintain high standards of environmental and occupational safety. That's why I've said we can reduce the cost of government by eliminating billions lost to waste and fraud in the federal bureaucracy…. And, because we are a Federation of sovereign states, we can restore the health and vitality of state and local governments by returning to them control over programs best run at those levels of government closer to the people. We can fight corruption while we work to bring into our government women and men of competence and integrity." -- Ronald Reagan (1980)

Elections will determine what kind of country we'll have

"[Elections are] going to determine what kind of country… millions of… American children are going to grow up in. Will it be a country in which everything keeps on going up in price, and jobs are harder to find and keep? Or will it be a country where, because of our efforts… savings will mean something, prices will be stable, and there will be jobs for people who want to work?" -- Ronald Reagan (1980)

An energy policy for economic growth

"[W]e must adopt an energy policy which will enhance our economic growth. We must implement a balanced energy program that will encourage prudent energy conservation, along with increased domestic energy production." -- Ronald Reagan (1980)

A personal note: My new grandson

Here's a link to some photos of my newest grandson, Nathan Timothy Corley, born at 10:16 PM (Central Time) on 05 November 2009.

Thanks.