Carter, double digit inflation, high unemployment, gas shortages, hostages .... yes, them were the good ol’ days.
Sure there were environmental abuses. But what did the Democrats do with it? They created a system of enriching lawyers and redistributing commercial land to the wealthy or politically well connected through Super fund laws. On particularly desirable properties in the United States, just try to develop it without being politically well connected. By politically well connected, I mean being a significant donor over time. In trucking, Democrat led regulations have increased the cost of equipment, reduced fuel mileage, and reduced equipment reliability to the point of causing national disaster preparedness concerns and small business failures. Further, owner operators are effectively encouraged to keep their old equipment longer, which is somewhat self defeating. In construction, builders have to comply with burdensome Federal, State, County, and City regulations. These regulations often conflict with one another, causing the builder to either pay fines or the paying off of politicians. Regardless of the preceeding, the builder has to pay, which are of course passed on, many fees, taxes, and cost for required products such as software or services such as inspection services that are not directly related to the construction of the building. US businesses that provide local jobs but compete globally have a serious cost disadvantage, in part, because of Democrat regulations as compared to countries such as China. I’m for reducing environmental impact of manufacturing and transportation if it is done efficiently, if lawyers and politically connected suppliers not the primary motivation behind the regulations.
Exactly --- and nearly all of these can be blamed on the policies enacted by Carter which made the underlying issues worst rather than improving anything.
Let he who is without sin.... We know how it goes, we all have something in our past, Carter’s a decent man, just a horrible politician/president.
Point by point this for us with more than just some old fucker in a diner said? The same old guys who remember the good old days when tachometers were easy to fiddle and all an independent guy needed was a bottle of diet pills? In trucking, Democrat led regulations have: 1. Increased the cost of equipment 2. Reduced fuel mileage (really?) 3. Reduced equipment reliability to the point of causing national disaster preparedness concerns and small business failures. 4. Further, owner operators are effectively encouraged to keep their old equipment longer, which is somewhat self defeating. I see PLENTY of 80s and 90s US stock trucks around Colombia, black smokers. I bet without looking that despite huge increases in numbers (Reagan killed the railways) the number of deaths involving semis is way down. What happened with engine complexity? Same as with cars, from my days working on an Allison (made engine spares) advertising account in the early 90s (friend's business) I recall Volvo was pissing from a height on the US makers with better bang for buck in TCO (spares being a huge factor). But please, break it down. You drive a truck.
Carter's 2nd term came down to a cracked blade on a helicopter or a sandstorm, he was a military man but he was not war like enough for the hawks. Bad luck. As far as the economics, he inhereted stagflation and a cold War fuelled oil crisis starting 1973 caused by Tricky Dicky's antics. In the end he handed Reagan a substantially repaired economy, a gift. You have been sipping the republican history cool-aid for decades. Carter did well with the cards he had been dealt. The nation was not forgiving after the Republican trouncing national pride with Vietnam failure. Had the raid been successful he would have beat Reagan, it wasn't and history was re-written against him. He has unquestionably been the finest ex-president in modern US history, if not ever.