“I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” has become one of the most recognizable phrases ever uttered by Ronald Regan and for good reason.
While you might say that it’s cliché and a thing that only boomers might remember (you’re probably right), it’s worth bringing it back into the common parlance.
I know for a fact that the phrase has fallen out of favor based on the amount of electoral success that far leftists have been having lately.
You need look only towards the once great city of New York, and the elevation of a literal communist to the mayoral seat, to see that people have placed way too much faith in the government’s ability to solve our problems.
Aside from most young Americans having no real idea about what communism actually does to a society, there’s no question that mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s rise came largely on his promises to grant wishes and manufacture prosperity that voters traditionally have had to work hard to obtain.
Indeed, the mistaken belief that government can grant all of the most ardent wishes and desires of our hearts is a nigh universal fiction that voters across the political spectrum engage in.
This magical thinking is less common on the right but it certainly does exist and to ignore its presence is to ignore a serious political reality.
I went into it a bit last week but it must be reiterated that Trump’s dismissiveness towards affordability concerns is politically foolish and a boon to Democrats.
Likewise, his stubborn adherence to his tariff regime is costing him, and those that trusted him to be a good steward of the economy, by the day.
As such, no amount of witty sayings, bluster or positive language is going to make the American people feel good about the administration if their wallets are light and their dollars short.
“Tariffs are bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars, and we are respected as a nation again. When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country? When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
I highlight Trump’s desperate pleas because the administration is already engaging in what is always a bad omen for things to come, initiating government bailouts.
Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of bailouts. When they come along, it’s usually as a result of a self inflicted problem that the government helped create in the first place. Case in point, the $12 billion bailout that Trump gave to struggling farmers.
Don’t get me wrong, if there’s one industry that ought to be getting the lion share of our support, it’s agriculture. However, farmers wouldn’t have needed the help if the Trump led government had not initiated the foreign tariff war and gotten completely out of the marketplace’s way.
And that really is the lesson here. Things have almost always worked their best without the presence of big government muddying the waters.
As the Libertarian in your life, believe me when I say that it’s true of your personal liberties, but especially true when it comes to economics.
I mentioned former President Reagan at the top, not just to rail against government excess, but because he is a figure that Trump has at times hoped to be compared to.
In my mind, there’s little doubt that the president would like to be mentioned in the annals of history alongside the likes of Reagan, who has long been a hero of the conservative movement and the gold standard of Republican presidential leadership.
Funny enough, Trump also admires 25th President William McKinley who is remembered for his Gold Standard Act, and was shot at the beginning of his second term, but I digress.
In any case, President Trump has sought to be remembered as a Reagan-esque consequential president with McKinley’s historical reputation for economic boom in a time of great uncertainty.
In a case of further irony, McKinley’s own love of tariffs were incredibly controversial, even over a century ago, and the Democrats of the day were able to make a resurgence by railing against them.
Make of that what you will.