Ronald Reagan, Lyndon B Johnson and Franklin D Roosevelt as Active Presidents of the US - Essay Example

President Roosevelt regarded public welfare considerations to eclipse individual autonomy in importance; however, he prepared to use the influence of the government to force people to act in the public interest. Unlike Roosevelt, we find that Ronald Reagan acknowledged or considered the government as being part of the problem and not the solution in the economic impasse. On the other hand, President Lyndon Johnson was the major proponent of the thought that the government, particularly a big national government, was the best solution to most of the problems of the United States.

During the presidency of Johnson, the first debates regarding minimum wage were initiated, being extensively backed by the Equal Opportunities Office. These individuals believed that if the redistribution of income were to be done in an appropriate manner, then the awareness rate would actually be a big step (Tim 56-85). Just like Reagan, we find that Johnson also had a dislike for communism and promised to bring it to an end in Vietnam. Nevertheless, unlike Roosevelt, President Reagan had no hope for the ability of the government to be in a position of solving social problems. Condemning and criticizing economic stagnation, inflation and government constraints on economic development and personal autonomy, Reagan acknowledged that the government was the problem in the current crisis. Reagan proposed the removal of barricades that had slowed the growth of the country’s economy as well as reduced growth, so as to restore the growth of the economy (Roark, et al 34-75).

The vision of Reagan of personal freedom, respect for the entrepreneurial practice and limited government mirrors the American heritage as portrayed by Carnegie, Jefferson, Locke and Jackson. He wanted the government to be limited to its proper functions whereas respecting the property rights of everyone and leaving everybody free to seek happiness and prosperity (Roark, et al 34-75). Contrary, President Roosevelt went against these American heritage basics, refuting the primacy of personal freedom, and rejecting the immutability and eternity of personal natural rights, and granting the government full permission for expanding in compliance with social changes (McPherson 23-67). On the other hand, Lyndon Johnson was an absolute collectivist; that is he considered whatever was good for the whole as being the best option. 

However, in his first State of the Union Address, Johnson declared his war on poverty that would go all through the period of his presidency. He did not just watch the intelligent and hard-working individuals get richer whereas the parasitical poor even got poorer. He frequently spoke about his ‘great society’ characterized by freedom and abundance for all (McPherson 23-67). Little did he know that by disregarding the capitalist ideas that the nation was founded upon, he was increasingly making it difficult for abundance and freedom to be available for all. He believed in equal rights for the blacks and strongly fought for particular rights. He can be remembered for ensuring that the black in America gets the right to vote.

Other presidents, starting from Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt, surpassed Reagan in their effectiveness, but the difference is that much of it was negative. They surely won battles, but they nearly also destroyed the economy of the United States. Reagan was flexible and teachable; that is his ideas had been modified by him, and he always used his character and vision in the implementation of these tax cuts when he ascended to the presidency. He also brought down the rates for all of the taxpayers, and as he projected, the government’s revenue went up when he granted more freedom to the people of the United States to invest in their nation (McPherson 23-67). This amount of freedom was to some extend expanded by the capital gains cuts under the administrations of Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. Read More