Reagan’s Big Government Sapping U.S.

Earl Hutchinson’s Viewpoint (“In Defense of Big Government,” Oct. 5) shows that the author has not researched the facts. The New Deal did little to alleviate the Great Depression. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s economic policies were of little benefit to anyone, and the taxpayers are stuck paying for them today. It was World War II that revived the U.S. economy. Hutchinson is correct that defense spending has been rising under the Reagan Administration, but he is incorrect in saying that spending for social programs is falling. President Reagan has spent more on social welfare programs than any other President in American history.

Reagan is paying for his unnecessary military buildup and reckless social expenditures by increasing the national debt. Taxpayers today reap the benefits (if there are any) while their children and grandchildren are bequeathed a debt that currently amounts to $10,000 for every person in the country.

Reagan consistently speaks of his desire to slash big government. But in reality, government has grown much faster under his tenure than under his predecessor, the “liberal” Jimmy Carter.

It is big government that is taking vital resources from the private sector that could be used to create jobs and expand the economy. After 20 years of vigorous social spending, more people are considered poor now than ever before. The “war on poverty” has not been lost, but a new battle plan of tax cuts and deregulation of the economy must be implemented right away. Not the empty words of Reagan, but real, lasting changes.

TED BROWN

Los Angeles