KAY COLES JAMES: Why Reagans call to conservatism needs to be heard again today – SCNow

For example, he spoke of how government programs to eradicate poverty hadnt solved much of anything: If government planning and welfare had the answer and theyve had almost 30 years of it shouldnt they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help?

In recent years, weve spent about a trillion dollars a year on federal welfare programs. Divide that up among the 40 million or so Americans considered poor, and we could have given a family of four $100,000 a year. Yet, the poverty rate has stayed about the same as it was when the War on Poverty began in 1964. Tragically, most welfare programs have only been successful at creating perpetual reliance on government.

Reagan also pointed out that, despite the fact that Washington was collecting unprecedented amounts of money from taxpayers in 1964, it never seemed to be enough: Today, 37 cents of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collectors share, and yet our government continues to spend $17 million a day more than the government takes in.

Washingtons poor fiscal restraint has only gotten worse. In 2019, the government spent $2.7 billion a day more than it took in, and currently, the national debt exceeds $80,000 for every man, woman and child.

Yet today, despite years of failures, just like back then, the left continues to promote policies that usurp our freedom, harm our economy, endanger our security and create an unhealthy dependence on government.

Today, theyre proposing government-run single-payer health care and cutting our military when those who want to do us harm are increasing theirs. They want to defund the police across America, putting out the neighborhood welcome mat for criminals everywhere. Theyve proposed climate legislation that would eliminate gas-powered cars, ground all airplanes, and forbid beef consumption. Their proposals would guarantee every person in America access to free health care, free college, and even a free paycheck paid for with huge tax increases.

Here is the original post:

KAY COLES JAMES: Why Reagans call to conservatism needs to be heard again today - SCNow