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Ronald Reagan is known for many things, but particularly his famous quotes. They were simple, easy to remember, and conveyed a very clear message. Many of them criticized the government: “the best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.” His quotes would become self-fulfilling prophecies, as he began deregulating businesses, lowering taxes, and went on to lead the most corrupt presidential administration in history until another Republican president: Donald Trump. As Joe Biden takes on the mantle of the presidency, we now have a chance to move beyond Reaganism, which has been quintessential to American political culture for so long.
Reagan’s strategy was artful and simplistic. By characterizing government as ineffective through political rhetoric, and then making good on that rhetoric, our 40th president created a self-perpetuating cycle where people’s faith in government decreased, and thus, so did their investment and engagement in government. Bill Clinton announced in his 1996 State of the Union, “the era of big government is over,” and cut welfare programs. Thirteen years later, Obama created the new “Office of Social Innovation” because “top-down programs from Washington don’t work anymore.” Ironically, Obama possibly wouldn’t have been able to vote for himself without the top-down program from Washington known as the Voting Rights Act.
This war on the government has had a disastrous effect on America. A simple way to illustrate this is to think of any government action that has had a significant, positive impact on a large portion of the US population. One example could be the stimulus bill of 2009 and Obamacare, but Obamacare has shown to be lacking in terms of significantly improving healthcare access. The stimulus bill didn’t do enough: Chuck Schumer called it “small” and “measly” and blamed it for the lengthy duration of the recession. Additionally, the bill gave lots of money to corporations, which only impacts a small population and continues the transition of power from government to corporations, which aren’t accountable to the public in the same way government is.
The wealth gap between America’s richest and poorest families has more than doubled from 1989 to 2016. Worker rights have decreased, epitomized in the decreasing unionizing rate. 44% of Americans don’t have enough money to cover a $400 emergency. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. has very low voter turnout. After all, who would pay attention to local and national elections when the government has proven to be unproductive? The hollowing out of government has led to corporations replacing the role of the government, which leads to worsening working conditions, increasing inequality, and a decreasing safety net. On a cultural level, it leads to a society where government is defunct and devalued while corporations are praised. When this happens, someone who can “run government like a business” could garner some popularity.
Surprisingly, Trump’s election could turn out to be the best thing for pro-government action. Trump proved himself an incompetent legislator, showing the effects of a government that is apathetic and incompetent. He was unable to repeal Obamacare without a replacement or manage the pandemic, resulting in countless deaths and what would have been countless more if he had succeeded with his repeal of Obamacare. Yet, Trump did pass significant economic relief such as the stimulus bills and expanded unemployment benefits, increasing the social safety net, if only temporarily, and marking a shift in terms of how the US government helps its citizens. Trump’s handling of the federal response to the pandemic showed the worst and best of government: the ability to directly help people’s lives as well as the ability to extirpate them by failing to contain a pandemic.
President Biden’s response to COVID-19 has been effective and competent. There has been a coherent federal response and communication, which has increased public faith in how the handling has been, according to numerous recent polls. Vaccine rollout has significantly improved, with vaccines being administered at an increased rate. The stimulus plan, known as the American Rescue Plan, or ARP, created a situation where Americans will be able to get vaccinated two months earlier than previously expected. The additional money for testing will allow more people to get tested and more efficiently. Every American will be able to get back to their lives earlier because of the government‘s response.
The ARP is the first bill in over 40 years where the majority of money is going to people in the lower half of income earners. The ARP will likely drop our child poverty rate by half, in a large part to an increased child tax credit that comes in the form of checks. The ARP will increase the after-tax income by over 20% for people in the lowest quintile of income earners. Checks of $1,400 will go to 288 million Americans. The ARP will allow Americans to survive this pandemic economically.
These actions will impact families directly. All Americans will have the ability to get the vaccine two more months earlier than previously scheduled. Americans will get more money than they have ever directly received from the government. This could be a cultural turning point in America. The marked shift from an incompetent federal government to one which efficiently handles a worldwide pandemic combined with direct cash payments to families is, in some ways, the federal government flexing its muscles after a long period of stagnation.
Yet, the benefits of this bill, such as the unemployment benefits and the child tax credit, are due to expire at the end of this year. The effect of this bill, both economically and culturally, will depend on what it leads to. If Congress can abolish the filibuster and pass reforms which affect you and I on an individual basis, people’s perspectives of government will likely slowly shift. Imagine, for instance, your route to work everyday radically improved. Imagine a government guaranteed paid sick leave, paid vacation, and paid maternal leave. Imagine how that would impact your view of government. Imagine how that would impact our country’s turnout in elections.
If the past 40 years have been any indication, we should fear a government that is unable or unwilling to do its job rather than one itself. If the US government can continue improving American lives in a similar way to ARP, maybe we will wave goodbye to the world of Reagan and enter a new one of equity, ironically ushered in by someone old enough to vote for many of Reagan’s proposals.
