What Would Reagan Do?

As part of my grieving process over the death of Ronald Reagan, I have been sparring with Democrats of varying degrees of disdain for the Gipper, trying to shed a little perspective on his legacy. One set of recurring themes are these: greed and a lack of concern for the little guy. In the mind of many, Reagan is synonymous with greed and selfishness.

Reagan's policies did in fact allow for people to amass a great deal more resources for themselves, if for no other reason than the Government stopped taking over 70% of it. This irks many progressives, but no matter how much money a "greedy" business owner or CEO makes, it gets back into circulation creating jobs (somebody has to build the houses, pools and fancy cars). It is undeniable that Reagan believed money should be spent by the people who earned it, not by the Government, but it's hard to argue with that basic philosophy. Did we not all read The Little Red Hen? Curtailing tax disincentives keeping entrepreneurs from doing their thing is perfectly defensible.

That said, I would argue that greed is a moral issue, not an economic one. One can be greedy or virtuous in the same environment, and it all depends upon your inner self. A man can be very unselfish with great resources, or very selfish with meager resources.

I vividly recall in my youth a popular poster of a yuppie bearing a martini sitting front of a garage full of exotic sports cars with the caption "poverty sucks". Michael Douglas' Gordon Gecko declared that "Greed is Good" in his famous speech in Wall Street. Is this a notion that can be traced to Reagan? Hardly. Contrast Gecko's words with this typical Reagan sentiment, delivered in 1992:

"My fondest hope for each one of you -- and especially for young people -- is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism."

These are not the words of an evangelist of greed.

Reagan lived this way, too. The man was devoted to his wife, lived modestly and always treated people well. A certain candidate has plenty of "Do you know who I am?" stories of line-jumping and elbowing aside the little guy, but I have heard no credible stories of Reagan being anything but thoughtful and kind. He vigorously purported the ideals of freedom, chief among them economic freedom. Many of us may have gone bonkers and acted irresponsibly (businessmen are a terribly competitive lot, after all), that isn't the fault of Reagan. His personal life was a good example of service and devotion to high ideals.

Say what you may about the 80's being the decade of greed, but that particular cultural/moral trend shouldn't be pinned to the Gipper. Those of us who used the occasion of newfound economic opportunities to act grossly should have asked "What would Reagan Do?". If we didn't, shame on us, not Reagan.

Tim McNabb