By Lisa McCormick
For many, the name Reagan conjures images of optimism and prosperity, a sun-drenched “Morning in America” painting over the cracks of economic woes.
But step back from the gleaming facade, peer into the shadows, and a different picture emerges – one eerily familiar to readers of Dickens and Zola, a tapestry woven with threads of Dickensian hardship in a setting of Downton Abbey extravagance.
This is the America wrought by Reaganomics, an era where the ghosts of Victorian inequalities roam under the neon glow of Wall Street.
The Spectre of Greed: Reaganomics and Trickle-Down Delusions
Reaganomics, with its tax cuts for the wealthy and its disdain for labor protections, was heralded as a return to economic freedom. Yet, this freedom resembled the cruel liberty Dickens’ Oliver Twist found in the workhouses – freedom from any obligation to share, freedom for the rich to feast while the poor starved.
The “trickle-down” of wealth promised under this “voodoo economics,” as President Carter aptly called it, proved a cruel mirage.
Instead, income inequality became a yawning chasm, with the top 1% gorging themselves on a banquet of tax cuts while the middle class, like Scrooge’s Cratchit, was left scraping by on meager scraps.
The Ghost of Union Busting: Labor’s Shackles, Wealth’s Triumph
One of the cornerstones of Dickens’ world was the plight of the downtrodden worker, their meager wages and brutal conditions echoing within the factories and mines.
Reaganomics resurrected this specter through a systematic dismantling of unions, the very tools workers once wielded to secure fair wages and decent lives.
With unions weakened, corporations reigned supreme, squeezing profits from their employees’ sweat while offering only a pittance in return. This, like the Scrooge who denied Cratchit a raise, enriched the masters at the cost of the servants’ well-being.
The Haunting of Globalization: Jobs Vanished, Dreams Crushed
In Dickens’ London, the Industrial Revolution displaced and uprooted, casting shadows of unemployment and despair. Reaganomics, through its embrace of unchecked globalization, mirrored this bleakness.
American factories, unable to compete with overseas counterparts fueled by cheap labor, shut down, leaving behind shuttered windows and broken dreams. As jobs fled to distant shores, families faced the Dickensian choice – workhouses or the streets.
The Looming Peril: Consequences of a Divided America
The consequences of this Dickensian America are stark and ominous. A hollowed-out middle class, like the hollow shell of Scrooge before his epiphany, weakens the economy’s backbone.
Inequality breeds social unrest, a simmering anger that echoes in the pages of Dickens’ novels and threatens the very fabric of society.
The American dream, once a beacon of hope for all, becomes a cruel taunt for those trapped in the shadows of poverty and desperation.
A Christmas Carol Yet Untold: Can We Rewrite the Ending?
This era of Dickensian disparities under the guise of Reaganomics is not inevitable, but the Democratic establishment today is only slightly better than the GOP was 40 years ago. While the majority of Republicans have gone crazy, abandoning clear thinking in an eruption of religious fanaticism, so too have most of the elected officials from the other party… which is how I refer to the one I cannot recognize as the Democratic Party.
But unlike Dickens’ tales, our story isn’t over. We stand at a crossroads, with the option to veer away from this downward spiral. We can, as Scrooge ultimately did, choose empathy over greed, solidarity over self-interest.
We can rebuild unions, invest in education and infrastructure, and implement progressive taxation that shares the burden fairly.
These are not mere policy prescriptions, but acts of moral courage, rejecting the Dickensian path and forging a future where prosperity is not a gilded cage for the few, but a shared table for all.
Americans must rise to the responsibility of citizenship! The Democratic establishment is still accountable to voters in primary elections, and we need more dedicated Americans who will fight back against those who are serving the corporations and their new aristocracy.
We can, like Tiny Tim, whisper “God bless us, every one,” and build a society where that blessing rings true. The choice is ours: to continue down the path of Gilded Misery, or rewrite the ending and craft a Christmas Carol for a fairer, more equitable America.
Lisa McCormick was the only New Jersey Democrat who dared to challenge corrupt incumbent Bob Menendez for the US Senate nomination in 2018 after he was admonished by the Ethics Committee for bringing disgrace to his office. She is an advocate for peace, justice and equality.