“MAGA” once belonged to New Deal

OPINION:

It seems the slogan “Make America Great Again,” while having inspired millions of Americans, is being degraded by media to signify something sinister. In fact, however, it recalls America’s heyday, which was brought about by the Democratic Party’s New Deal.

Since this policy ended about 40 years ago, most of today’s voters have a much-diminished historical perspective to make a comparison between the New Deal and Reaganomics.

The New Deal ushered in the time when America became the arsenal and supplier for the free world. This was when President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program established the Civilian Conservation Corps, Social Security and the FDIC. The draft provided employment and training for many. The GI Bill was established for college education and veterans benefits. The middle class flourished because manufacturing jobs with security, benefits and pensions became available to average citizens. Compound interest in savings accounts yielded considerable nest eggs.

There were up-and-down economic trends, much like today, but overall during the New Deal the country maintained its standing as the richest and most powerful nation on Earth. We were self-sufficient and our national debt was microscopic compared to what it is today.

Today’s supply-side trade and economic policy provides somewhat cheaper prices on everyday products, though “American prices” for foreign products are common. Overall this policy favors the very rich and provides the “old deal” for the vast majority of Americans, along with an ever-expanding national super debt. We are now overly dependent and colonized, sometimes even by our philosophical enemies, who do not reciprocate or allow foreigners to own property.

With so much of today’s sophisticated communication technology, it is becoming harder to distinguish theater from reality. It seems we must relearn to first consider the result of these policies before being consumed by political sales performances.

LOUIS L. BOEHM

Orchard Park, New York