Spring Break
FDR, Nixon and Bush: axis of stupidity
Seth Stern
Issue date: 2/10/09 Section: Opinion
I sat down to write a scathingly critical column regarding the Nixon administration. I was staunch in the thought that Nixon, not Bush, was the worst president in U.S. history.
I based this judgment on one lynchpin idea, Nixon's role in causing permanent (so far) inflation.
Say what you will about Bush, but the negative effect of his administration will likely pass in the next decade (minus the debt accrued since January 2001 and any potential attack from either Iraq or Afghanistan's new governments).
As I researched the facts to backup this theory, I ran into a colossal obstacle. The foundation of my argument was long-term negative effect. On that criterion Franklin Delano Roosevelt's economic and domestic policies made him, not Nixon or Bush, the nation's worst president -- this excludes his magnificent handling of World War II.
Nixon terminated the Bretton Woods Agreement, which tied major world currencies to tangible commodities. The U.S., along with the rest of the world, then and now operates on a system of fiat currency, meaning currency with no inherent value. The effect was to remove any external control of the U.S. currency, exposing the value to the whims of the political leadership.
One presidential act opened the door for today's sub-idiotic politicians and their treasury secretaries to flood the world with U.S. currency, devaluing the dollar and directly causing inflation.
Thank Nixon partially for the exorbitant prices you pay for everything from gasoline, 36 cents per gallon in 1971, to homes, $28,300 in '71 compared to $283,400 last year.
Particularly shocking over the past weeks, and due largely to a mediocre understanding of historical fact, was the revelation of the actual failures of FDR's New Deal, instead of what I was taught earlier in life to be successes.
Quick multiple-choice question: The acts of which political leader had the biggest impact on the U.S. job market and economy? a) FDR, b) Ronald Reagan, c) Harry S. Truman, or d) Hitler.
I based this judgment on one lynchpin idea, Nixon's role in causing permanent (so far) inflation.
Say what you will about Bush, but the negative effect of his administration will likely pass in the next decade (minus the debt accrued since January 2001 and any potential attack from either Iraq or Afghanistan's new governments).
As I researched the facts to backup this theory, I ran into a colossal obstacle. The foundation of my argument was long-term negative effect. On that criterion Franklin Delano Roosevelt's economic and domestic policies made him, not Nixon or Bush, the nation's worst president -- this excludes his magnificent handling of World War II.
Nixon terminated the Bretton Woods Agreement, which tied major world currencies to tangible commodities. The U.S., along with the rest of the world, then and now operates on a system of fiat currency, meaning currency with no inherent value. The effect was to remove any external control of the U.S. currency, exposing the value to the whims of the political leadership.
One presidential act opened the door for today's sub-idiotic politicians and their treasury secretaries to flood the world with U.S. currency, devaluing the dollar and directly causing inflation.
Thank Nixon partially for the exorbitant prices you pay for everything from gasoline, 36 cents per gallon in 1971, to homes, $28,300 in '71 compared to $283,400 last year.
Particularly shocking over the past weeks, and due largely to a mediocre understanding of historical fact, was the revelation of the actual failures of FDR's New Deal, instead of what I was taught earlier in life to be successes.
Quick multiple-choice question: The acts of which political leader had the biggest impact on the U.S. job market and economy? a) FDR, b) Ronald Reagan, c) Harry S. Truman, or d) Hitler.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 14
Sneed Hearn
Sneed Hearn
posted 2/10/09 @ 2:03 PM MST
To you students reading this column be aware that the latest stupidity inflicted by Washington is generally referred to as the Inter Generational Theft Act. (Continued…)
jimmy
posted 2/10/09 @ 5:59 PM MST
Thanks for the history lesson..... Hoover? Pierce? Buchanan? Harding?
"Quick multiple-choice question: The acts of which political leader had the biggest impact on the U. (Continued…)
Arvensis
posted 2/10/09 @ 6:24 PM MST
Good attempt Seth, but you left out the single, meaningful contributing factor: THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK! The central banking system, a for profit corporation that took over our country. (Continued…)
Arvensis
posted 2/11/09 @ 1:49 PM MST
Response to MoralMoney:
First and foremost when referring to money, you must define value. What is value?
"the gold standard is physically impossible because there isn't enough gold in the world to match the existing value of US currency. (Continued…)
Registered Independent
posted 2/12/09 @ 11:15 AM MST
Response to Jimmy's posting on 2/12/09 @ 7:25 a.m.:
Beg your pardon, but I think you may have inadvertently caused some confusion for readers with your second-to-last paragraph, where you stated "I'm registered independent, and have a degree in history. (Continued…)
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