Reagan Said!

Reagan said “in situations like today, government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.  In one respect Reagan was correct.  Government is the problem when government is not competent.  When government lacks the ability or willingness to pay the costs of government, government is the problem.  When government fails to act because of political considerations, government is the problem.  When government attempts to impose views and behavior based upon religion, government is the problem.  However, as we experienced during the May 2010 flood, quick action on the part of government helped many who had damage from the flood recover quickly.  The people of New Jersey, on the other hand, having to wait over two months for Congress to act on their needs and the people in New Orleans who are still awaiting relief from Hurricane Katrina would undoubtedly agree with Reagan that government is the problem.  But, the problem is not government the problem is the incompetent representatives we elected to govern.  Just as an incompetent coach can wreck an athletic team, an incompetent legislature can wreck government.  For too long, we have lacked competence in those who we choose to send to represent our interests.  We have allowed politicians to lie, misrepresent, and otherwise deceive us in order to please their special interests.  We have believed many falsehoods and rather than voting for what is best for our individual needs have managed to send representatives to Washington who have crafted legislation that destroyed the middle class and only benefited their campaign contributors, the top 1%.  For the past thirty years, middle class America has not experienced growth in either wealth or numbers.  On the other hand, while not growing in numbers, the top 1% have seen income and wealth go through the ceiling.  At the other end, the bottom have failed to keep up with inflation while their numbers have expanded.  This is all the result of believing that lower taxes at the top will benefit everyone else.  We have sent people to Washington based upon their promise of jobs and in spite of their failure to craft a single piece of job-creating legislation, have sent them back to do more damage to the country because of their incompetence.  As a country we are spending more on defense than the total of the next fifteen countries combined while we watch our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure fall to pieces and while our children fall further and further from the top in educational accomplishments.  Following the shooting in Sandy Hook, the cry was for armed security in every school but no one noticed that the cry for this expenditure was from the very people who voted for or supported politician whose policies was based upon lowering the money spent for schools.  Competence is the solution.