Letter: He’s tired of stale anti-government rhetoric

TO THE EDITOR:

Since the time of President Reagan, Americans have been fed a steady diet of anti-government rhetoric by a political party which talked about “small government” and “fiscal responsibility” while it engaged in reckless tax cuts for the super-rich and military adventures based on deception.

These people, who like to call themselves “conservatives,” could not get enough of de-regulating the financial markets, based on the fantasy that Wall Street and “free markets” were self-regulating. They threw out regulatory protections dating back to the New Deal and tried to privatize Social Security. They placed their cronies in charge of agencies charged with regulating banking and securities, like foxes in charge of so many chicken coops. They passed out billions of dollars to political cronies for work that was never done. These zealots were not there to improve government — they were there to loot government, and they did a hell of a job, Brownie. Their “conservative” ideology worked very well — for themselves.

Well, their financial house of cards has collapsed, leaving behind a ruined economy, a wrecked financial system and trillions in public debt. Tens of millions of people will not have a decent retirement and a generation of young people will not have living standards or opportunities comparable to that of their parents. The world, not just the U.S., may well slide into a second Great Depression as a result of this corrupt ideology.

And what are these anti-government, anti-regulation “conservatives” saying now, after their party presided over a global financial catastrophe? They are out there ranting against “government,” oblivious to the disaster they themselves created. And screaming about “earmarks,” after they quadrupled them.

Putting this bunch of zealots in charge again would be like putting an arsonist in charge of the fire department.

Ron Zaudke

Prescott

Tags: opinion, government, regulations, necessary