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Letters from near and far
Reagan was great
A writer writes, "President so-so" in reference to query from former President George H.W. Bush to President Ronald Reagan on how his meeting went with Bishop Desmond Tutu. You write. "To be candid, I was not a Ronald Reagan fan. To be honest, I have to give him credit for being one of the most successful US presidents --- maybe THE most successful --- in my lifetime."
Well, there you have it! History will remember Ronald Wilson Reagan as one of America's greatest presidents! In by book he is in the top five United States presidents.
I had the pleasure to have lived in California when he was governor and I can say that I lived well. He then went on to Washington and I voted for him because I knew he could get the country out of the doldrums.
His plan as many called it was "Reaganomics" and other called it "Voodoo Economics" but it was the most serious attempt to change the course of US economic policy of any administration since the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "Only by reducing the growth of government," said Ronald Reagan, "can we increase the growth of the economy."
Reagan's 1981 Program for Economic Recovery had four major policy objectives: (1) reduce the growth of government spending, (2) reduce the marginal tax rates on income from both labor and capital, (3) reduce regulation, and (4) reduce inflation by controlling the growth of the money supply. These major policy changes, in turn, were expected to increase saving and investment, increase economic growth, balance the budget, restore healthy financial markets, and reduce inflation and interest rates.
President Reagan delivered on each of his four major policy objectives!
The annual increase in real (inflation-adjusted) federal spending declined from 4.0 percent during the Carter administration to 2.5 percent during the Reagan administration and that was despite a record peacetime increase in real defense spending.
There were also substantial changes to the federal tax code. The top marginal tax rate on individual income was reduced from 70 percent to 28 percent. The corporate income tax rate was reduced from 48 percent to 34 percent. The individual tax brackets were indexed for inflation and most of the poor were exempted from the individual income tax.
Now for the kicker. Economic growth increased from a 2.8 percent annual rate in the Carter administration, but this is misleading because the growth of the working-age population was much slower in the Reagan years. Real GDP per working-age adult, which had increased at only a 0.8 annual rate during the Carter administration, increased at a 1.8 percent rate during the Reagan administration. The increase in productivity growth was even higher: output per hour in the business sector, which had been roughly constant in the Carter years, increased at a 1.4 percent rate in the Reagan years. Productivity in the manufacturing sector increased at a 3.8 percent annual rate, a record for peacetime.
Most other economic conditions also improved. The unemployment rate declined from 7.0 percent in 1980 to 5.4 percent in 1988. The inflation rate declined from 10.4 percent in 1980 to 4.2 percent in 1988. The combination of conditions proved that there is no long-run trade-off between the unemployment rate and the inflation rate.
But his greatest legacy was ending the Cold War. He also brought back the confidence Americans had in themselves and in the United Sates. It was a great feeling. President Ronald Reagan may have disagreed with a foreign leader but he did it with courtesy and he was never spiteful or mean.
Now one of his endearing qualities was his great sense of humor. When he was shot during his presidency and Nancy Reagan went to see him in the hospital he said, "Sorry Honey, I forgot to duck."
He honestly loved people! There is a story told how still recuperating from his gunshot wound in his chest he happen to spell some water on the floor. Not wanting to get his nurse in trouble he struggled out of bed and was found on his knees by his nurse mopping up the water with tissue. Now that in a nutshell says what kind of man he was and I suspect he is in heaven right now cracking jokes with Saint Peter and God.
Louis Barbier
Largo, Florida
PS: Since the late President Ronald Reagan was a cowboy he lived by the code.
The Cowboy Code:
1. They were never looking for trouble.
2. But when trouble came, they faced it with courage.
3. They were always on the side of right.
4. They defended good people against bad people.
5. They had high morals.
6. They had good manners.
7. They were honest.
8. They spoke their minds and they spoke the truth, regardless of what people thought or "political correctness," which no one had ever heard of back then.
9. They were a beacon of integrity in the wild, wild West.
10. They were respected. When they walked into a saloon (where they usually drank only sarsaparilla), the place became quiet, and the bad guys kept their distance.
11. If in a gunfight, they could outdraw anyone. If in a fistfight, they could beat up anyone.
12. They always won. They always got their man. In victory, they rode off into the sunset.
Is the editor anti-American?
I am writing regarding the excellent letter from Chris Wainscot of Indianapolis, Indiana. He left you with some tough questions. We are watching and waiting to see if you, Eric, have real world answers or if you are only "A visionless protester."
I observed the 60th anniversary of Normandy and I thought it quite ironic how the European leaders extremely thankful for to the Americans for defeating an evil dictator and restoring Europe, "a debt they could never repay."
Well they could try. When an American President requests help to remove another evil dictator the Europeans need to go back and walk through Normandy and remember how much they owe the United States and then get in line.
Jim Lacey
Litchfield Park, Arizona
Re: letter from Chris Wainscot
Doesn't think you do a fair and accurate job.
The easy answer to the five questions is YES --- no detailed reason needed.
He can read the answers in US papers, and magazines.
So far as he quotes the American public in percentages who favor his opinion.
It is - No. It seems to me that he is not interested in news: Wants to shape it.
I find the Panama News to be fair, honest, and more accurate than most news services. Between Panama News and Gulf News, along with local papers, I feel the news is out there. You have to go find it.
H Kendall
Melbourne, Florida
Finds us useful
I am so glad to have found your online newspaper. My husband and I are looking into retiring to Panama. We have a local friend who is an Panamanian native and will be returning there. Reading your paper gives us an idea of the political, social and economic climate of the country. Any other resources or suggestions for us would be greatly appreciated. Our friend has given us a lot of information, however it would be good to hear about Panama from (I am assuming) Americans. We have no idea where to start regarding getting into the country to establish residency.
He's rediscovered us
Just discovered your online newspaper. I had always enjoyed reading the hardcopy versions during my frequent visits. As a former resident of Panama (six years) and probable military retiree if Panama's pensionado laws remain, your newspaper is invaluable for encapsulating the current news and happenings in the isthmus.
Thanks much! for making an online version of your newspaper available
Research tool
I am writing to tell you how much I just enjoyed finding your periodical and its contents on line. I discovered it while my wife and I were doing research on Panama in preparation for our second trip to the Bocas islands in search of a small piece of property. We are not retirees, nor wealthy, so we must be extra careful in our pursuits. Your article helped to confirm our intuitions about a certain company doing business in real estate there.
Thank you!
I am also writing to recognize your incredible gift of writing, as well as your obvious courage and constitution in taking the status quo to task. Heroes are made of such stuff.
Also, please accept our sincerest hopes that your family members who serve in Iraq arrive home safely.
Someone who reads the science section
The business section
I liked your story about the new Embera Nation website in the business section. The comarcas are very poor in the money sense, but from a cultural point of view possess great wealth. A better standard of living will come to those communities not from charity, government programs or foreign aid. It will be from businesses like the website featured in your article. Even if the press conference took place in Paitilla, it's good to be reminded that all of Panama's business stories don't start and end in the financial district.
Falun Gong practitioner shot during
Chinese officials' visit to South Africa
The drive-by shooting of a Falun Gong practitioner in South Africa on Monday marks a new level of violence and recklessness in former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's worldwide persecution of Falun Gong.
David Liang was driving one of two cars en route from Johannesburg airport to Pretoria around 8:30 Monday [June 28] evening when a white car with three occupants overtook them and fired at least five shots into the vehicle. Liang was hospitalized with bullet wounds and his car was disabled in the incident.
Two Chinese government officials heavily implicated in the persecution of Falun Gong in China are currently visiting South Africa. Vice president Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai both have had legal cases submitted against them, the latter earlier this year in the United States and Poland. The charges: torture, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Liang and eight other Falun Gong practitioners from Australia arrived in South Africa to assist locals in revealing the nature of the persecution of Falun Gong in general, and the heinous actions of the two visiting officials in particular. They intended to hold a press conference to expose the crimes of the two officials and to have legal papers served against them.
The shooters did not stop when Liang was shot and his vehicle was disabled. Liang, of Chinese origin, was the only one shot, and was the only one in the car wearing a jacket with the words "Falun Dafa." These facts, and others that are sure to emerge, point to this conclusion: the shooting was a premeditated action specifically targeting Falun Gong during the two officials' visit.
Zeng, Bo, and other high officials have given orders in China that have resulted in torture and death. During the nearly five years of persecution against Falun Gong, harassment, interference in basic rights, death threats, beatings, break-ins, and now an assault with guns have targeted practitioners of Falun Gong on foreign soil, outside China.
Hiring someone to kill others due to belief or association is the act of terrorists, and this is what we believe has happened in South Africa at the behest of Chinese officials.
A local resident noted that this was not a random act of violence, but definitely "an act of political persecution."
Police have opened a case and assigned an inspector.
We urge the authorities in South Africa to thoroughly and carefully investigate this incident and uncover the people behind this reprehensible act. We further urge all governments to condemn the actions of the Chinese authorities in persecuting Falun Gong inside China, as well as outside China.
European Falun Gong Information Center
Recommends book
I just recently read the most informative book! It is called Domestic Abuse: Our Stories by M. Webb (ISBN# 1-4137-0720-3). I think that this book in particular needs to be brought to the attention of as many people as possible. I hope that it will make people become more aware of this growing problem in our society. The author did a wonderful job in letting us get into these houses that abuse takes place in. From police officers abusing their partners to high school boys abusing their girlfriends. Some of these women make it out before it is too late, others don't.
Please read and review this book for yourself. I know that you will agree with me.
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