America has management problems.
Conservatism offers a small part of the solution and so does Liberalism - but working together appears to be increasingly difficult. Cooperation is almost dead! The two political philosophies are beating each other to ineffectiveness as our Federal and state governments grind toward monumental failure.
The Framers constructed a political model that was less than perfect but regardless it served America rather well. They knew there were flaws and they expected patriotism and common sense would iron them out. They were wrong. Corruption, for example, invaded the system and now, 250 years later, the original political model has become unworkable. Our current economic condition is a reflection of the inability to manage government better than we do.
In 1929 there was a similar instance. It was the time of the Great Depression and citizens looked to government to correct the problem. The nation's economy had failed and the government found itself grasping at straws for their political life. Herbert Hoover and the Republicans were widely blamed. The newly elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Democrats were expected to turn the failing economy around. Americans demanded change.
And change they got. F.D.R. and the Democrats swiftly established government regulation in the more important parts sectors of the economy. They founded government owned industries to quickly employ workers in large numbers. The unemployment lines shortened. The W.P.A. (Work Project Administration), the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation Corps) are just two examples. The Democrats also began to imprint additional government authority on the rest of the nation's businesses.
This process of change strained the economy and reduced the freedom of our citizens.
Americans found work. The national debt increased substantially. But before F.D.R. and the Democrats really had a chance to evaluate their efforts - World War II became the more important crisis and changed everything again. WWII started with Germany's aggression on our allies in Europe. At first America tooled up and converted key industries in order to produce the weapons and other needs of war. We used our natural resources and manufacturing power to assist our allies in Europe. We supplied their war effort - but before long America was also drawn into the war. Then Japan, taking advantage of our commitment to the European war, also declared war upon America. We were forced to fight on both sides of the globe.
The good guys won the war. The cost was huge.
The war caused Americans to draw together and cooperate in the common cause. The war also led to rapid growth and forced rebuilding of the Nation's economy. We had to completely restructure the way we did business. The war was on the one hand the cause of catastrophic and inhuman death, and at the same time responsible for the saving and rebuilding of our economy.
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