The Destruction of Government

by Jackson Dave

Ronald Reagan gave us the notion that “Government is the problem.” It’s ironic that as a notorious fiscal conservative, once in office he annihilated the budget. Many of his supporters over the years have claimed that it was an intentional ploy to undermine government---to literally bankrupt it.

Reagan not only cut taxes, but he emasculated the process. His signature action, early in his first term, was to break PATCO, the air traffic controllers union. Reagan fired striking controllers. Mandating that these controllers would never be re-hired, he threw the air traffic system into chaos for years.

Subsequently, and largely fueled by the “anti-government” sentiment which has spread like wildfire, the labor department, SEC, EPA have been gutted by Republicans. It is no surprise that they cannot function properly. Reagan appointed Alan Greenspan to head the Federal Reserve. Greenspan, a disciple of Ayn Rand, was committed to non-regulation of all industry in this country. This is a bizarre appointment, given that the Federal Reserve’s function is regulation of our financial structure.

Prior to Reagan, government service professionals had pay scales comparable to industry. We now see government attorneys, accountants, regulators and staff with pay scales at a fraction of their private industry counterparts. Regulatory agencies, whose function it is to protect us from the excess and greed of commercial enterprise are not just undermanned, they’re like a high school team facing the NFL. Government pay scales cannot attract high caliber people. They are underfunded, they have antiquated computers, with lesser-qualified technicians. These people really are unable to stand up to industry. We are toast! In the 60s we had a ratio of one government regulator to every industry lobbyist. The ration is now about one to three.

Since the 80s, virtually all Republicans have run on the Reagan platform of cutting taxes, and telling us that government is unable to do anything. We’ve seen that when in power, they deliver government failure, just as promised. Essentially, one half of our government is committed to its own destruction.

Good government is capable of functioning effectively and accomplishing good things, but where is the voice proposing this? There’s NO voice contradicting the Republican message. Democrats fall into line at the campaign finance trough; they shrink in fear of standing up to the combined force of the Republican noise machine, backed by industry and its campaign funding.

History favors the Republican message. Beginning with the McCarthy hearings of the early ‘50s, the press has shied from confronting the right wing. Edward R. Murrow stepped forward to unseat and derail the McCarthy hearings and Joe himself. But the tradition persists. The sad truth is that we have come to believe Republican slogans after hearing them as background noise for so long. Forty years ago Vice President Spiro Agnew launched the Republican policy of undermining the press by labeling it “the liberal press”. William Saffire coined the phrase: “Nattering Nabobs of Negativism,” which Agnew made famous. We mocked Agnew, but still subscribe to his message.

Republicans became accustomed to deferential treatment. Under ("renegade") publisher Otis Chandler, The L. A. Times provided equal coverage to Pat Brown in the ’64 gubernatorial race, prompting Richard Nixon’s outrage: “You won’t have Nixon to kick around any more.” As president, Nixon turned Agnew loose. He also directed the justice department to attack Chandler and The Times in an effort to ruin the Chandler family and the Times’ reputation. It didn’t work. Ultimately Nixon undid himself through paranoid excess.

A movement to alter this pattern must come from US. We must tell our representatives that we want good government, and that begins with campaign reform.

Jackson Dave is a Robbinsense staff writer