Ronald Reagan is championed by conservatives and Republicans alike as the poster child of freedom and small government. And who could blame them? He was a charismatic gentleman who dropped amazing quotes to back up the theory, such as:
“The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”
“I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.”
“The federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government.”
“Someday, the realm of liberty and justice will encompass the planet. Freedom is not just the birthright of the few, it is the God-given right of all His children, in every country. It won't come by conquest. It will come, because freedom is right and freedom works. It will come, because cooperation and goodwill among free people will carry the day.”
With quotes like these, what conservative-leaning individual’s mouth wouldn’t water over the prospect of a president like Ronald Reagan? He ran on abolishing the Departments of Education and Energy. He ran on balancing the Federal budget within his first term. He was the epitome of limited government and individualism. Then, he was elected as our president from 1981 to 1989.
Before anything else is said, I would like to supply you with one more quote, one from another president. You may be familiar with him. It was George Washington. This is less a quote, more of a personal motto, one that he lived his life by: “Deeds, not words.” That being said, I want to take a serious look at the actual deeds of Ronald Reagan, not merely his words. At the end of this essay, we can reevaluate where we stand and see if Reagan truly holds up to the Legend that has been erected in his honor.
The first aspect of the Reagan administration I want to look at is its spending and the general increase or reduction of the Federal government that took place.
As I mentioned before, Reagan ran on balancing the budget in his first term. Instead, the federal deficit rose by $133 billion. Over the course of his entire tenure in office, the Reagan administration added $1.9 trillion to the national debt. In those eight years alone, Reagan managed to grow the budget by a whopping 69%.
As I also mentioned earlier, Reagan ran on abolishing the Department of Education, a sentiment I actually strongly agree with. By the time Reagan left office though, funding for the Department of Education had been doubled, landing at the “small” sum of $22.7 billion.
Now for some more numbers: From 1981-87, farm program spending by the federal government increased 140%. Medicare spending almost doubled from $43 billion to $80 billion. When Reagan stepped into office in 1981, federal entitlement programs cost taxpayers $197.1 billion. By 1987, they were up to $477 billion.
Foreign aid was also dramatically increased, being raised from $10 billion to $22 billion. Reagan also managed to push through an $8.4 billion increase to the International Monetary Fund.
Between 1982 and 1988, Reagan managed to expand government ownership of property as well, signing 43 bill which designated more than 10 million acres of federal wilderness areas spanning across 27 states.
To give you a break from the monotonous and seemingly never ending flow of expanding government via numbers, let’s take a look at Reagan’s foreign policy.
Ronald Reagan’s administration cannot be discussed without mentioning the Iran-Contra scandal. Essentially, Reagan bypassed Congress (unconstitutionally, mind you) on aiding Nicaraguan Contra guerrilla fighters by diverting cash flow to them via sale of missiles to Iran.
In 1986, Reagan ordered the Air Force to bomb Libya in an attempt to kill Khadaffi. The attempt was obviously unsuccessful. Two years later, a Pan Am airliner exploded above the pastures of Scotland and the U.S government swore up and down it was Khadaffi’s doing....Blowback, anyone?
If this wasn’t enough, Reagan initiated military involvement in the following countries: Libya (President Obama?), Grenada, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Lebanon. The key word in the preceding sentence is “initiated”. As I’ve delved into in other writings, the initiation of force is wholly and incontrovertibly immoral, so....need I say more on Reagan’s foreign policy?
Anyone who has read any of my previous articles knows that I am a big proponent of correctly differentiating rights from privileges. In 1986, Reagan signed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This gave citizens the “right” to continue on their employers group health plan even despite job loss or reduction of hours. Sounds “union-esque” in nature to me.
If you’re reading this and are still not convinced by Reagan’s deeds over his words, I have even more to share.
From 1980 to 1988, the amount of civilian government employees rose by 230 million people. Reagan also showed he was no fan of individual liberty when he enacted mandatory minimum sentences for any non-violent drug offense.
The last piece of info I will leave you this should solidify the case that Ronald Reagan was anything but small government. If it doesn’t, I think there may be a misconception of “small government” either on your end or my end. During Reagan’s tenure, the average annual increase in the size of government was 6.8%. This is compared to Clinton’s 3.6%. An increase is an increase, don’t misunderstand me. But to herald Reagan as the champion of small government when he outgrows Clinton? Shameful.
I think the picture that has been painted is very clear; if we use Washington’s motto of “Deeds, not words”, then Ronald Reagan was anything but “small government”. What we actually got was another Progressive Republican who was just a little better at hiding the fact.
The point I’m trying to make is that this constant fight we are in the midst of, the constant struggle....it has absolutely nothing to do with Right vs. Left, Republican vs. Democrat. It has everything to do with Right vs. Wrong, Free vs. Enslaved, the Individual vs. the Collective, the State vs. You.
Will you stand with me?
Will you stand with me?
Will you stand in the name of individual liberty & personal responsibility?
Take Care, Always.
Brad Robbins
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It is amazing how much Americans buy into rhetoric. It seems that Reagan never lost his democratic roots, maybe he was a better actor then we give him credit for. I wonder how conservative he was when he was governor...
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