They made sure so many things we take for granted came to be. Think how much better off we would be if corporations and lobbying groups had their way… and shudder.
1. 40-hour work week.
2. Paid vacation.
3. Overtime.
4. Unions.
5. Highways.
6. The internet.
7. Clean Air Act.
8. Superfund.
9. School loans and grants.
10. Food and drug inspection. (Okay, it’ll take a while to get back to normal.)
11. Medical and drug research.
12. Public education.
13. Moon landings (Velcro! and dehydrated ice cream!)
14. The GI Bill and VA mortgages.
15. Public sewers.
16. Municipal parks and playgrounds.
17. Medicare.
18. Medicaid.
19. Fire departments.
20. Police departments.What are some of the other evils liberals and/or government have made proud patriots pay for?
Well, let’s see what Bill Clinton signed into law that counts as a public good in my mind:
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 – take that, party of “family values”
Americorps – because after Reagan/Bush we needed to take care of our own in rural areas
Brady BillJim Brady took a bullet for Reagan early in Ronnie’s first term and it took 12 years and a Democrat to pass a law requiring a waiting period and a background check before purchasing a handgun.
Minimum Wage Increase Act – because those damn working poor had waited years for a raise
State Children’s Health Insurance Program – yes, the original one whose expansion Bush 44 vetoed TWICE. President Obama signed expansion and authorization legislation in February 2009.
Taxpayer Relief Act – because everybody knows Democrats are the “tax and spend” party… um.
There were other bills and initiatives Clinton signed off on that I consider to be less admirable – DOMA and DADT, Communications Decency, welfare reform. And of course health care reform and campaign finance reform went down to defeat.
Jimmy Carter didn’t fare too well but he did get a few things right:
National Energy Act
Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act
Windfall Profits Tax – later repealed during either early Reagan or early Bush 42
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act – because 103 million acres of National Park land is a good thing
Department of Energy – it’s in our national interest to conserve energy
His record on civil rights and human rights and towards a more peaceful world will be his legacy – he was the first American president to call for civil rights and protections for gay persons.
Even Ronnie Reagan signed an illegal-immigrant amnesty act and adjusted the Social Security system to adjust for new retirees, and tightened federal standards for disposal of toxic waste. He even passed a Tax Reform Act in 1986 to sweep away many kinds of tax shelters. Huh.
Given the cynicism underlying some of the rosily-named bills passed during Bush 43 (the underfunded No Child Left Behind Act and others), it’s tough to pick something nice to say here – but I guess I’m glad for the Do-Not-Call Act, but the CAN-SPAM act was a big steaming pile o’ FAIL.
So yeah, we’ve probably have been a lot better off under Democrats, but we definitely need balance from the more conservative side to rein in the worst excesses of comfortably-ensconced pols. As long as they’re REALITY BASED, that is.