“Are you better off than you were four years ago?” – Ronald Reagan on October 28, 1980, making his closing argument in the only presidential debate with incumbent Democrat president Jimmy Carter in that fateful year.
Many a political observer has labeled Reagan’s inquiry the most memorable and effective finishing statement of any campaign in history. I recall watching the debate as a seventh grader, thinking Reagan had encapsulated his entire campaign in just one statement. My parents had talked about Reagan quite a bit, so there was never any doubt the way our family leaned in that critical election. But with TV news the way it was in those days, it was inspirational to see The Gipper go head-to-head with Carter and lay it all on the line with his legendary question to the American people.
Watch the clip again and you’ll see Reagan also alleged that if you answered ‘yes’, then you knew who to vote for. Imagine a politician in 2024 suggesting it was okay to vote for the other party if you felt your situation was such that a change wasn’t needed. Today, neither the Republicans nor Democrats would feel strongly enough to grant a license no matter how he or she felt about the potential answer from the viewers.
But Reagan was an extraordinary man in extraordinary times. In a scenario eerily familiar even today, America was struggling with a dark and unfamiliar enemy, Iran, that threatened us in ways that weren’t visible to the naked eye. There were other worrisome adversaries, too, as the Soviet Union and the possibility of a nuclear confrontation was at the forefront of our minds.
For those who may not recall, America had boycotted the Olympics in Moscow that previous summer, president Carter declaring that the Soviet presence in Afghanistan forced us to stay home rather than take part in games that would justify the communist regime’s aggressiveness. People were feeling down about America’s future, not only economically, but also our ability to contend with ideological competition the world over.
To synopsize, there were: hostages in Iran, a resurgent Soviet threat; defiant terrorists in the Middle East; high inflation; skyrocketing interest rates; low consumer confidence; concerns about the American Dream being a thing of the past, etc. Does this sound like today?
It’s no wonder Reagan won such a convincing victory a week later in the election. Just like I’d seen the debate, I remember watching the vote returns and calls on Election Night in 1980. I didn’t understand the intricacies of all the issues back then, but I do recall that I felt good about the prospect of Ronald Reagan leading the nation as president as I entered my teen years.
Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Americans aren’t swayed now, either. In an article titled “Gallup poll: Most Americans worse off than four years ago”, Sean Salai reported at The Washington Times this week:
“Most Americans say their families are worse off than four years ago, according to a Gallup poll that finds economic concerns at a level not seen since Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992.
“Gallup reported Friday that 52% of adults responding to a recent survey said they and their families were in poorer shape financially than before President Biden took office. That’s the highest in presidential election-year surveys going back to 1984, and the most since 46% said the same in October 1992, the polling company noted.
“Another 39% of surveyed adults said they were better off than four years ago, and 8% said they were ‘about the same’ as in 2020. ‘The higher-than-usual percentage of U.S. adults who say they are worse off this year is largely owing to Republicans’ much greater likelihood to say this than opponents of the incumbent president’s party had been in prior election years,’ Mary Claire Evans, a Gallup researcher, wrote in a summary of the findings.”
To be accurate, it’s fair to say there’s a sizable percentage of the public who would never answer “yes” to the “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” question. Many Americans probably don’t remember what the circumstances were the last election cycle, but they do have an idea of how they felt four years ago. In most cases, in November, 2020, we were just coming out of the COVID fright and change was slow, slow, slow.
Many kids were still under some level of lockdowns in schools. There were restrictions on freedoms. There supposedly was a vaccine in development that would prevent people from getting sick, but its availability was still in dispute – and no one knew if it would be effective after such a short trial time. Businesses were still recovering.
Too many citizens were unsure about the future. The government lied for so long and so unconvincingly that pessimism and distrust were high. Government had covered up some of the economic pain by subsidizing the people out of work. I remember restaurants and fast food places were under requirements to either put “social distance” in their dining rooms or continue to offer curbside-only pickup.
Culture had changed, in addition. School children were ordered to attend classes via computer link. Absurd mask mandates were still in force. We most definitely weren’t better off than we’d been a couple years before. Thanks to the Democrats and the demagoguery of senile Joe Biden, millions of Americans blamed Trump for the China virus, even though he’d been the one who’d encouraged alternative solutions to those propounded by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the federal health tyrants as well as pleaded to open the economy back up.
The economic pain for many was yet to come because of the 2020 outcome. The federal supplements authorized along straight party lines in early 2021 began to dry up. The price of gasoline had already risen dramatically. Totals at the grocery store were just beginning to elevate. Shortages were everywhere. The economy hadn’t fully recovered and wouldn’t for some time. When things began to feel “normal” again, Americans realized we were stuck with a decrepit, truth challenged idiot for a president.
The feeling persists. No wonder Gallup found that the “Are you better off?” sentiment lingers on. Not only are people finding their money doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to, there’s little prospect that things will improve under the current regime, either. Cackling Kamala Harris is trying to convince voters that more federal money is the answer, along with targeting businesses that may be involved in “gouging” the public. Tell me, who is doing well in today’s economy?
Government, for one. Government bureaucrats never have to worry about getting fired. And they get regular raises whether the conditions or individual performance merit them or not. The government is always hiring. Ever heard of a bureaucrat getting laid off? Government doesn’t make anything and it’s insulated against belt-tightening. The percentage of people who answered they are “better off” than four years ago are probably those working for the federal, state or local entities.
This is not meant to smear or disparage individuals who are employed by the government. All of us probably know people who work for an agency or the military or are employed by the octopus that has its tentacles in every direction. It’s not possible to avoid. But the pervasiveness of government isn’t helping with the “better off” feeling among the voters.
But only a fool would surmise that economic matters alone contribute to the “better off” dissatisfaction. So much of a population’s attitude towards their government and culture is determined by the leadership style of the governors themselves. America is not better off than it was four years ago. Think about how much has changed in that one presidential term and ask yourself the same question.
There can be little doubt that “woke-ness” has advanced markedly under senile Joe Biden and cackling Kamala Harris. What about culture killers like “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”? Has any aspect of life improved because the government is keeping an eye on who gets hired and why? What about critical race theory? Democrats talk about “book bans” and the like, but they never cite the reasons why certain states seek to keep the material out of schools.
Parents feel helpless to stop it, too. They can’t object to boys being permitted to use girls’ bathrooms at school or if their district permits biological males to participate in girls’ sports. Are the athletes themselves “better off” when a human being with male hormones and genetics wins a competition with girls? Is being treated the same really improving the participation level?
Or is being forced to pay for sex change surgeries something that makes people feel better off? How about watering down or dismantling Title IX to include transgenders? Has this improved the greater society? Or just made folks resentful of being powerless to do anything about the changes?
Have things improved in foreign relations since Biden and Harris took over? Has the immigration situation gotten better or worse? How about crime in the cities? Does it benefit all Americans for the federal government to fly illegal immigrants to places where they will live? Have the legal residents of Springfield Ohio grown as people because illegal squatters have been thrust upon them?
Do Americans think the nation is in a better situation diplomatically? Has allowing Iran to continue influencing and financing its proxies made the world a better place? How about spending hundreds of billions on weaponry for Ukraine? Or empowering the federal justice department to detain, try and punish peaceful January 6 protesters? Not all of them were violent. Most of them were just caught up in the melee.
Liberals don’t want Americans to answer the “better off” question because the only ones who answer in the affirmative are the people paid by Democrats. Advocates for traditional American values and limited government certainly don’t see their lives as improved. If Democrats are worried about the pessimistic attitude among “regular” people, they should be.
In a lot of ways today, it reminds them of how they felt in 1980 when Reagan originally posed the “better off” question. Donald Trump will restore their confidence.
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