Robert Jefferson Stacey Almirante once said, “I am thankful to God for giving us Wilson and FDR. They were necessary outcomes of the experience of TR. But even TR was antiquated in his approach. In order for us to catch up to history we needed a new brand of president. America is better off, but the revolution still is not finished.” Almost a century has passed since Wilson and FDR. The policies that they began have been continued by Presidents like LBJ and Jimmy Carter. So, is America really better off? Well, the answer to this question for you depends on your definition of the American dream.
When you think of America, what do you think of? Do you think of, liberty, the land of the free, the ability to pursue a dream or your life’s calling? Do you think of a place where each individual has the ability to pursue happiness as defined by them? Or do you think of a place where equality refers to economic or social standing, where people aren’t truly free unless they are no longer in need and no longer fear the future?
If you answered the latter, then perhaps America is better off. After all, we as a nation have come to the place where economic equality is enforced through an income tax which targets the wealthy and redistributes those funds back into programs which benefits those in the lower tax brackets. If you can’t afford to buy a home, there are government programs and legislation designed to make that possible for you. If you want to go to college, don’t worry about the rocketing tuition prices; there are government student loans available. If you get sick, don’t worry; hospitals by law cannot turn anyone away because of an inability to pay. Even in an economic recession you do not have to worry. The government is big enough to help your company not go under so you won’t lose your job.
All the above sounds great unless you are of the persuasion that the American dream is about the ability of individuals to pursue happiness as defined by each. For you, it is the market that should set prices for things. If people see a value in the product or service you provide, they will be willing to pay a certain price. If you are asking a price that is greater than people are willing or able to pay, you will either have to lower your price or go out of business. For example, if you are an institution of higher learning, you would either have to lower tuition rates to levels people are willing and able to pay, or you go out of business. Instead, we live in a country where tuition can always be raised because people can always take out another student loan. Thus, the snowball of rising tuition keeps rolling. If you are a hospital or doctor, you either charge rates people are able to pay, or you go out of business. Instead, hospitals have to provide services, so they charge more for those who can pay or have insurance to cover the costs for those who do not. Thus, the snowball of rising healthcare costs keeps rolling. If you are a homeowner, would you rather be in a stable market where prices are set by supply and demand, or would you rather be in a volatile market where government programs and enforced sub-prime mortgages create a false demand that goes away once those individuals can no longer afford the rising interest rate? As we saw recently, that snowball found the precipice; the others may not be far behind.
If you define America as the Founders defined it, a place where freedom and individual liberty is protected via limited government, then America is much, much worse off because of Teddy, Wilson, and FDR. We now have a large, ever expanding government that taxes success and subsidizes failure, creates false demands and enables rising prices, making it much harder for you, as an individual, to pursue your dream. Thanks to TR, Wilson, and FDR, we have created an environment where there is more incentive to fail, to be mediocre, than there is to succeed. Why toil endlessly to better yourself when the government will take most of it away anyway? Why put all the work into starting, developing, and maintaining a successful business only to see the government bail out your failing competition? Don’t bother and don’t worry; the government will take care of you.
