If Carter had won

> From time to time, I wonder how America and the world would have evolved had Jimmy Carter won a second term. The Reagan revolution wouldn't have occurred, and Bush Sr might have had two unrevolutionary terms followed by a couple of Clinton terms.
> Policies and programs to address world overpopulation and reproductive health wouldn't have been interrupted by a gag rule. More manufacturing and middle-class jobs would still be in the US. More of our citizens would have assets, savings and comfortable retirements. Less wealth would be concentrated in a plutocracy and gambled in hedge funds, collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. More banks would be solvent.
> Most of our electricity would be from solar and wind energy, and more of our transportation would be electrically powered. Energy efficiency/conservation would be advanced. Our trade imbalance would be much smaller, so less of the US would be foreign owned. Our government debt would be far less than the 13 trillion that now makes us vulnerable to mistakes or blackmail by foreign governments or sovereign wealth funds.
> In summary, our policies would reflect common sense rather than Reaganomic myths and slogans.

Unpatriotic Reaganomics

* A mature and intelligent person inquired of my bumper sticker, "No more Republican/Reaganomic Kool Aid". I discovered that most people don't realize that the economic paradigm under which we struggle is a contrivance of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher beginning after 1980, an economic experiment with a dubious rationale, not the natural order.
* The pillars of Reaganomics are: 1) deregulation to unleash commercial activity; 2) globalization to combat inflation; 3) tax cuts for the rich to stimulate investment; 4) faith in market forces to provide what society needs; 5) privatization of basic services for better efficiency and incentives. Each of these pillars might be helpful in small doses, but suicidal in large doses.
* Swallowed whole they translate to environmental degradation, resource depletion, loss of American jobs, Walmartization, idle mill towns, blighted cities, broken rungs on the economic ladder, anemic middle class, diffuse disaffection, transfer of wealth to foreign corporations and sovereign wealth funds, sequestration of wealth among corporate executives and Wall Street paper pushers, large and relentless government budget deficits hence rapid expansion of government debt now equal to the gross national product, epidemic corporate and personal bankruptcies, over-expansion of the military-industrial complex, toxic self-righteousness among those who compete successfully, neglect of infrastructure and utter failure to prepare for future inevitabilities.
* Reaganomics seems unpatriotic.

Obama & Robert Reich

* Since 1980, I've suspected that Reaganomics (tax cuts for the rich, globalization, deregulation, faith in market forces, privatization) would decimate our middle class, bankrupt the nation, deplete essential resources and pollute the world's support systems. We're 'bout there.
* Since 1980, corporate bankruptcies have been rampant, oceans and air are irreparably polluted, the lower rungs of the economic ladder are missing and the national debt has increased 10 fold, doubling under Bush II and now equaling the gross national product. Owing to corrupt election financing, our government has subsidized many industries that didn't need it and failed to incentivize industries essential for the nation's survival, specifically solar and hydrogen energy.
* Now joblessness and homelessness are at or near 50-year highs. With so many of us in this together, perhaps there will be fewer people groveling in self-righteousness.
* Sadly, Obama seems to accept much of the Reaganomic paradigm. It was somewhat encouraging to see Robert Reich among his economic advisers. He is best suited to steer our economy back to something widely satisfactory and sustainable.