When Ronald Reagan entered the White House in 1981, he openly predicted a decline in the price of oil. With the value of the dollar on the rise after a decade of debasement by Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, Reagan knew that a reversal of dollar policy that vandalized reason would bring down nominal prices at the pump.
The U.N.'s credibility and effectiveness in reducing poverty andpromoting economic development are at stake, but what reallymatters are the lives of millions around the world for whomeconomic freedom offers the best hope for a more productive lifeand the dignity of self-reliance. An alliance that promotes thatagenda would make the U.N.'s development work much more effective.
Not that long ago there was a broad political consensus that a fair and efficient tax system has a broad tax base and low tax rates. The grand bargain was no special interest loopholes and low tax rates to boost the economy and jobs. As recently as the 1980s, Democrats and Republicans joined together to pass a tax reform that lowered income tax rates to 28 percent, while eliminating deductions and carve outs. Nearly every Senate Democrat, including Ted Kennedy, Al Gore, Joe Biden, Bill Bradley, and Howard Metzenbaum, voted for this new system.