by Tina Grazier
In the mid to late eighties I noticed something wonderful had happened, an amazing number of small businesses had cropped up and were flourishing everywhere I looked. There was an explosion of industry and of artistic expression. Whether on Main Street, or in my mailbox in the form of mail order catalogues, enthusiasm for the entrepreneurial spirit had inspired a deluge of cottage industries. Funding for these small businesses and growing firms came from people in the private sector as the Great Communicators tax cuts and small government policies put invigorating power into the hands of the American people. It was an exciting time and it was exactly as Ronald Reagan had envisioned.
The buying and production power in America soon began to have an effect in other countries around the globe. Even small nations with poor inhabitants found their citizens working and bringing home the bacon as factories sprung up to aid and supplement the growing industries in America. Whole countries embraced the Reagan vision and brought growth and prosperity like they had never seen before. Independence, opportunity and growth sparkled in the global air as clearly and as brightly as a Fourth of July fireworks display. America, and the entrepreneurial spirit of her people, became, once again, an inspiration to the world.
How far have we come from Reagans inspiring and uplifting vision? Both in reality and in spirit a long, long way. Some of it has been the result of circumstances beyond our immediate control, like the costly and devastating effects of war and natural disasters. But much of it has been the result of bad policies and a spiritual and ethical decline. These reflections on the state of our economy and the incredible legacy of Reagan were illuminated in my mind when I ran across this sad bit of news:
** From over $1 billion in annual garment sales, Saipan now has virtually zero income from its once mighty industry that produced clothing for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Gap, Levi’s, Abercrombie and Fitch, Polo Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, and Liz Claiborne. This month, not a single penny in garment sales was recorded, and government collection from user’s fee was zero. **
My accounting of the Reagan record is, admittedly, overly simplified. It can be debated, of course, and the causes and effects argued, but the general, positive outcomes that followed Reagan policies and vision are indisputable. I submit that the Reagan stamp was so effective that subsequent Democrat leaders, including President Obama, have attempted to mirror Reagans positive attitude and enthusiasm for the people. Unfortunately their desire to shift power from the people to government has also been present. I suppose they believed no one would notice or make the distinction, but nothing could be further from the truth. Big government and the top-heavy power it creates is impossible to miss. It rolls over the spirit of the people like tanks on a field of battle. It crushes the engine that ensures aliveness and survival. Big government does not engage individuals or inspire them to greatness; it oppresses them making them dependent and needy. Big government, power in the hands of the few, is not the solution to our fiscal or spiritual problems and it certainly isnt consistent with the principles of liberty that our country has always represented in the world.
America has a responsibility, born of our historic founding, that reaches beyond political minutia and the issues of the day, beyond classes and race, and beyond government officials and bodies. America carries the flame of freedom, a flame that burns brightly in the hopes and dreams of every individual. It embodies the human spirit ripe with longingfor opportunityfor the self-preserving desires for education and refinement of skills. Freedom is the promise for individual creativity, innovation and achievement. It is the space that generates strength and prosperity for individuals, families, communities and, finally, for government.
Unleashing the power of the people, rather than robbing them to power government, is the transforming key to altering circumstances for all people around the globe. There isn’t a country in the world that isn’t aware of this truth. In contrast, the oppressive, power at the top polices of the current administration in America, and of others from countries around the world, will cause the conditions now present in Saipan to become reality for everyone. Zero power, zero opportunity, zero resources, and zero hope. Big government solutions and power, like those envisioned both in Washington and at the U. N., will mean zero power to the people and will lead to absolute power for the few elitists at the top. Zero, my friends, is an incredibly relevant number.