“Extreme” wasn’t always so

How times have changed! Current Democratic presidential candidates’ proposed policies labeled “extreme” by Republicans today were actively mainstream when I was young. Examples:

(1) 70 percent income tax on the highest bracket: It was over 90 percent throughout Republican President Eisenhower’s 1953-1961 term in office and at least 70 percent from 1936 through 1980.

(2) Free college education: Close to reality at public institutions well before and after I went in 1954.

(3) Medicare for All: Just a year after the U.S. passed Medicare for seniors in 1965, Canada passed Medicare for All and it became very popular there; that made it a topic of discussion in the U.S. until well-heeled medical insurance companies successfully lobbied against it.

(4) Regulations on Wall Street: During the 1930s Great Depression, President Roosevelt’s administration adopted regulations designed to avert a repeat. However, President Reagan’s administration initiated rampant deregulation, and both parties moved to the right - Republicans extremely so, Democrats less so. Even President Clinton in 1999 cooperated in deregulation by signing the Republican-introduced repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act (1933) that had long successfully separated investment banks from commercial banks. Its repeal encouraged very risky, high-stakes speculation that led to the 2008 economic collapse. President Obama’s administration partially restored needed regulations but Republicans are again removing all they can.

Republican Eisenhower was left of today’s Democrats on some issues, including the corrupting influence of big money, by warning of the military-industrial complex. But today’s Republicans are increasingly turning our government into an oligarchy run by the rich.

Norm Luther

Spokane