Again all the GOP has to offer is the tired message that it is free enterprise that will rescue us from big bad government, as so eloquently expressed by Sen. Rubio. Most Americans voted against this notion realizing it’s the same grand lie perpetrated by those wishing to hold on to that which has been pick-pocketed from the American Dream over the past few decades.
If Mr. Rubio’s reference to the time between presidents Kennedy and Reagan was meant as an example of what can be accomplished by free enterprise then questions arise. Arguably the biggest hurdle we face today is over raising taxes and on whom so why refer to a time with a tax rate well over 70 percent, which was effectively on the wealthy, for that rate didn’t kick in till over an amount most people couldn’t even dream of making in their lifetime?
Wasn’t that also a time of strong union membership with the Made in USA label proudly plastered on just about everything we bought? People remember the “working stiff” having a little bigger piece of the pie then, thus putting the “American Dream” within easier reach for those who worked for it.
This question is by far the trickiest for it shakes to the core beliefs long held by many in this country. What steps did free enterprise take during that time to encourage the issues of civil rights guaranteed to all citizens as put forth in our Bill of Rights?
What led us out of the Great Depression, protects workers from exploitation, ensures a product does what’s advertised and bailed us out of certain ruin in 2007? It’s a stretch to suggest the private sector did anything but help cause the above dilemmas while enriching the few. We’re not buying what you’re selling!
Dennis Doolittle
Arlington
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