There are times in America when it is in the best interest of the country to embrace liberal ideals and there are other times in America when it is in the best interest of the country to embrace conservative ideals.
During the Great Depression, even die-hard conservatives, deep down, would have to admit that Franklin D.
Roosevelt ("FDR") helped right the American ship by expanding the social safety net as wide and far as he did.
Perhaps one of FDR's most successful safety nets was the Civilian Conservation Corps ("CCC").
This organization helped resurrect America at a time when all hope was lost.
The CCC was a public work relief program for unemployed men, providing vocational training through the performance of useful work related to conservation and development of natural resources in the United States from 1933 to 1942.
As part of FDR's New Deal legislation, the CCC was designed to aid relief of the unemployment resulting from the Great Depression while implementing a general natural resource conservation program on national, state, county and municipal lands.
Flood Control: irrigation, drainage dams, ditching, channel work, rip rapping; Forest Culture: planting trees and shrubs, timber stand improvement, seed collection, nursery work; Forest Protection: fire prevention, fire pre-suppression, fire fighting, insect and disease control; Landscape and Recreation: public camp and picnic ground development, lake and pond site clearing and development; Range: stock driveways, elimination of predatory animals; Wildlife: stream improvement, stocking fish, food and cover planting; Miscellaneous: emergency work, surveys, mosquito control.
A typical CCC enrollee was a U.
S.
citizen, unmarried, unemployed male, 18-25 years of age.
Each enrollee volunteered, and upon passing a physical exam was enrolled for a six month term with the option to serve as much as two years.
He lived in a work camp, received $30 a month (with a compulsory allotment $22-25 sent to dependents) as well as food, clothing and medical care.
During a six month period an enrollee gained an average of.
277 inches height and 7.
23 pounds.
At the time when Ronald Reagan was elected President the U.
S.
was in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns, not seen since the Great Depression.
Interest rates and unemployment were in double digits, the economy was suffering through "stagflation", international respect for the U.
S.
was at an all-time low, our military omnipotence was dealt a mighty blow thanks to the aftermath of Vietnam and the ongoing Iranian Hostage Crisis and, once more Americans found themselves in a state of hopelessness.
Reagan, like him or not, resurrected the American Dream and made us all proud again to be Americans.
Reagan's across the board tax cuts stimulated our economy by giving businesses access to more of their money (working capital), which they then put to good use by investing this money on things like property, plant, equipment, research & development and human resources (job growth).
Individuals used this money to save, spend and pay down personal debt.
The aftermath of Reagan's supply-side economics was sixteen years of unfettered GDP growth, the measure of economic growth of a country, and an eventual surplus in the years 1998 through 2000 (while President Clinton helped foster this surplus through fiscal conservatism, it was Reagan's supply-side economics policies that gave Clinton the economic growth to help create the surplus).
911, the "Internet Bubble", President George Bush's reckless spending (he did not veto one bill in eight years) and two unnecessary wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) helped put an end to the surpluses realized during the Clinton years.
Bush's policies and the 2008 economic meltdown opened the door to the desire for "change'" that gave us President Obama.
Where Bush erred was in abandoning fiscal conservatism in an effort to gain Congressional support for his various tax cuts.
Bush essentially sold his Republican soul in order to follow through on his campaign promise of cutting taxes.
As a result "conservatism" lost its essence and liberalism was permitted a back door into the U.
S.
The liberalism of Obama, however, is wrong for our time.
With the rapidly expanding deficit, the floundering economy, high unemployment and questionable U.
S.
economic prestige among the international community what we desperately need as a country is conservatism.
By conservatism, I do not mean social conservatism.
The "religious right" was allowed to temporarily hijack the Republican party during the Bush administration.
But they do not embody conservatism.
What I mean by conservatism is shrinking our bloated government bureaucracy, reducing taxes across the board, reigning in spending, expanding capitalism by reducing various safety nets (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, private sector economic stimulus) once the economy gets back on the growth track and loosening the government's grip on the private sector (less regulation).
There is a robust movement beginning to take shape in America today, back toward true Reagan conservatism.
It is a movement growing stronger every day.
It is the right time in America for this shift back toward conservatism.
The world is looking at every move we make.
We need to send a strong message to the world that the American Dream is alive and well.
The American Dream is that of unlimited economic opportunity and the right of the private sector (businesses and individuals) to keep most of our wealth (private property rights).
We are seeing a rebirth of the American idea right before our very eyes and it is only possible because over two hundred years ago a few very wise men (our Founding Fathers) had the insight and vision to incorporate into our Constitution the ability to force revolutionary change in our great society, not by guns and civil war, but by the simple, peaceful process of democratic change we take for granted in this country.
The right to vote.
During the Great Depression, even die-hard conservatives, deep down, would have to admit that Franklin D.
Roosevelt ("FDR") helped right the American ship by expanding the social safety net as wide and far as he did.
Perhaps one of FDR's most successful safety nets was the Civilian Conservation Corps ("CCC").
This organization helped resurrect America at a time when all hope was lost.
The CCC was a public work relief program for unemployed men, providing vocational training through the performance of useful work related to conservation and development of natural resources in the United States from 1933 to 1942.
As part of FDR's New Deal legislation, the CCC was designed to aid relief of the unemployment resulting from the Great Depression while implementing a general natural resource conservation program on national, state, county and municipal lands.
Flood Control: irrigation, drainage dams, ditching, channel work, rip rapping; Forest Culture: planting trees and shrubs, timber stand improvement, seed collection, nursery work; Forest Protection: fire prevention, fire pre-suppression, fire fighting, insect and disease control; Landscape and Recreation: public camp and picnic ground development, lake and pond site clearing and development; Range: stock driveways, elimination of predatory animals; Wildlife: stream improvement, stocking fish, food and cover planting; Miscellaneous: emergency work, surveys, mosquito control.
A typical CCC enrollee was a U.
S.
citizen, unmarried, unemployed male, 18-25 years of age.
Each enrollee volunteered, and upon passing a physical exam was enrolled for a six month term with the option to serve as much as two years.
He lived in a work camp, received $30 a month (with a compulsory allotment $22-25 sent to dependents) as well as food, clothing and medical care.
During a six month period an enrollee gained an average of.
277 inches height and 7.
23 pounds.
At the time when Ronald Reagan was elected President the U.
S.
was in the midst of one of the worst economic downturns, not seen since the Great Depression.
Interest rates and unemployment were in double digits, the economy was suffering through "stagflation", international respect for the U.
S.
was at an all-time low, our military omnipotence was dealt a mighty blow thanks to the aftermath of Vietnam and the ongoing Iranian Hostage Crisis and, once more Americans found themselves in a state of hopelessness.
Reagan, like him or not, resurrected the American Dream and made us all proud again to be Americans.
Reagan's across the board tax cuts stimulated our economy by giving businesses access to more of their money (working capital), which they then put to good use by investing this money on things like property, plant, equipment, research & development and human resources (job growth).
Individuals used this money to save, spend and pay down personal debt.
The aftermath of Reagan's supply-side economics was sixteen years of unfettered GDP growth, the measure of economic growth of a country, and an eventual surplus in the years 1998 through 2000 (while President Clinton helped foster this surplus through fiscal conservatism, it was Reagan's supply-side economics policies that gave Clinton the economic growth to help create the surplus).
911, the "Internet Bubble", President George Bush's reckless spending (he did not veto one bill in eight years) and two unnecessary wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) helped put an end to the surpluses realized during the Clinton years.
Bush's policies and the 2008 economic meltdown opened the door to the desire for "change'" that gave us President Obama.
Where Bush erred was in abandoning fiscal conservatism in an effort to gain Congressional support for his various tax cuts.
Bush essentially sold his Republican soul in order to follow through on his campaign promise of cutting taxes.
As a result "conservatism" lost its essence and liberalism was permitted a back door into the U.
S.
The liberalism of Obama, however, is wrong for our time.
With the rapidly expanding deficit, the floundering economy, high unemployment and questionable U.
S.
economic prestige among the international community what we desperately need as a country is conservatism.
By conservatism, I do not mean social conservatism.
The "religious right" was allowed to temporarily hijack the Republican party during the Bush administration.
But they do not embody conservatism.
What I mean by conservatism is shrinking our bloated government bureaucracy, reducing taxes across the board, reigning in spending, expanding capitalism by reducing various safety nets (Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, private sector economic stimulus) once the economy gets back on the growth track and loosening the government's grip on the private sector (less regulation).
There is a robust movement beginning to take shape in America today, back toward true Reagan conservatism.
It is a movement growing stronger every day.
It is the right time in America for this shift back toward conservatism.
The world is looking at every move we make.
We need to send a strong message to the world that the American Dream is alive and well.
The American Dream is that of unlimited economic opportunity and the right of the private sector (businesses and individuals) to keep most of our wealth (private property rights).
We are seeing a rebirth of the American idea right before our very eyes and it is only possible because over two hundred years ago a few very wise men (our Founding Fathers) had the insight and vision to incorporate into our Constitution the ability to force revolutionary change in our great society, not by guns and civil war, but by the simple, peaceful process of democratic change we take for granted in this country.
The right to vote.
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