Sometime around 1980 the American middle class started to lose ground.
Perhaps it was with the passage of the 401k law, which killed off the
private sector defined benefit pension in favor of letting Joe and
Jane Sixpack speculate on Wall Street for their "retirements."
Perhaps it was with the firing of the air traffic controllers, which
announced the demise of private sector unions, even though public
sector unions thrived, and now control vast wealth in pension funds
like CALPERS.
Perhaps it was with the 20% prime rates that made the dollar strong,
(after the 1971 Bretton Woods Debacle), and American Industry weak
and uncompetitive in international markets.
Perhaps it was with the Reagan restoration of the wasteful Military-
Industrial Complex.
Perhaps it was the birth of the Reagan Democrats, who were content
with a leader who was an affable and uncurious master of ceremonies,
that make them "feel good" about their declining status. Reagan was
truly the harbinger of the uncurious Poppy and Dubya Bushs to come.
Perhaps Reaganomics was the luck of coming into office AFTER the Fed
had finished the GREAT INTEREST RATE INDUCED RECESSION of the 70's.
Then CDs went from 16% to 7% during Reagan's first term in office.
THEN AND ONLY THEN WAS THE WALL STREET MIRACLE SET OFF ON IT'S LONG
MARCH TO THE "GREED IS GOOD" BUBBLES OF THE 1990's.
Was Reagan a great president. In a word, No. Reagan's presidency
marked the beginning of the decline of the middle class in America.
He was the happy master of ceremonies who made us feel good about the
slow decline of American Industry.
He introduced the wedge issue politics that "won the South" for
Republicans for a generation.
The Reagan Presidency was the beginning of America's decline from a
DEMOCRACY to the WALL STREET PLUTOCRACY we have today with it's
rampant greed and corruption.
But, there is hope, the Election of 2004 may mark the end of:
OUR LONG GOOD BYE TO THE MIDDLE CLASS IN AMERICA THAT STARTED SO LONG AGO WITH REAGANOMICS!
