Biden's Historic Task Is To Reverse Reagan's- and Trump's- Reckless Radicalism

[appalachiablue]

- 'It Is Biden's Historic Task to Reverse Reagan's—and Trump's—Reckless Radicalism.' - Reagan's failed radicalism has now run its course, and the United States, while culturally as divided as ever, is at an economic and environmental precipice. By Jeffrey D. Sachs, Common Dreams, Jan. 18, 2021. - Excerpts -

..Reagan's failed radicalism has now run its course, and the United States, while culturally as divided as ever, is at an economic and environmental precipice. Real hourly wages for the median male worker (at the 50th percentile of the earnings distribution) fell 3% between 1979 and 2019. Student debts are $1.68 trillion, owed by an astounding 44.7 million borrowers. And climate change has plunged the nation into crises of mega-forest fires, coastal flooding, extreme storms, droughts and heatwaves. The year 2020 tied for the world's warmest on record, an astounding 1.25° Celsius above the pre-industrial temperature—with worse to come.

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, the rich have gotten much richer. Over 150 of the richest Americans, who number among the world's richest 500 people, now have a combined wealth of $3 trillion, which is up by over $600 billion from the start of 2020. With Covid-19, the very richest Americans hit the jackpot, with their wealth soaring as the result of Federal Reserve liquidity, huge budget outlays and their ownership of the digital platform monopolies on which much of the economy now operates.

The Biden administration must now find a recovery path out of the wreckage of four decades of Reagan radicalism and the politics it created. Reagan got us stuck on the ideas that "government is the problem," cuts in federal tax cuts are necessary, environmental regulations are problematic and major national problems can be left to the states and cities. These ideas, alas, are wrong, even though they are widely believed and were politically convenient for those who disliked the federal government's policies to end racial segregation.

Americans have learned, the painful way, that we need an effective federal government. Just as states and cities could not contain Covid-19 when the federal government shirked its duties, we will also continue to fail to create enough decent jobs, educate our children, ensure safe water for our farms and cities, protect the health of Americans, face the climate emergency and modernize our infrastructure, until we mobilize the federal government to act on behalf of all Americans and all parts of our nation.

The full article,

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/01/19/it-bidens-historic-task-reverse-reagans-and-trumps-reckless-radicalism

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Repudiate Reagan?

Sure, he fucked this country with his election. Have to blame the voters, though.

[appalachiablue]

2. The subject is focusing on presidential administrations

and policies to help the country, not scolding voters IMO.

[EarnestPutz]

3. Reagan deserves much more of the opprobium we should direct at those who, in the name of.....

.....Christian conservatism, have almost destroyed this country since 1980.

[Maxheader]

4. Democrats been cleaning up after the wingers...

like forever....