Ronald Reagan (U. S. President, 1981-1989)
See also: Rules for Economic Growth
Ronald Reagan is known as the poster child for conservative Republican views of capitalist economics. So, what are some rules for economic growth that we may take from him? Firstly, we have to operate under the assumption that his free market capitalism is only Biblical when regulated by the Biblical laws of faith in God (Deut. 8) and generosity to the poor (Luke 16). Otherwise, all economic growth is vanity, self-centered greed, and deceit. Secondly, although Reagan had a degree in economics, his forte was acting; and so, most of his economic ideas came from his economist advisors Alan Greenspan, Milton Friedman, and others.
To extract some helpful rules for economic growth from Chapters 4-5 in Leonard Silk’s Reagan the Man, the President (1980):–
1. Work for a company–totally unrelated to the government (free trade).
2. Aim for better living standards (better house, etc).
3. Be productive–at work, create more products, sell more products.
4. Work, Save, Invest, and Produce.
5. Avoid government aid programs (welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, etc)
6. Avoid minimum wage jobs.
7. Avoid government jobs.
8. Working/Earning –> Saving –> Investing
9. “Investment…growth of productivity”
10. Productivity + Investment –> Real Economic Growth (p. 63)
11. Friedman: investments are essential to economic growth (p. 66)
12. Working or Investing in Car Companies, Oil Companies, and Gold. (pp. 76-79)–gold is a more stable currency than the inflationary American dollar; however, investing in stocks appears to be the most reasonable form of investment, having the most potential for economic growth, when compared to bonds, or gold – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_as_an_investment#Investment_vehicles
13. Japanese and German people invested 25-35% of their yearly income and they had tremendous economic growth–we should do the same: “whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). (p. 75)
See Matt Schoenfeld’s Learning to Invest – ch. 2 – on investing in stocks and bonds – Christian book
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