Thomas Jefferson and the US Economy.

In troubling times, it is common to step back and reflect upon core values.  For Americans, the current economic crisis encourages people to re-evaluate priorities and hopefully think about the precious history of the democratic republic which they live in.  To know our history is to know men like Thomas Jefferson.

While both US political parties today will try to claim Jefferson as their own, it is quite unlikely that he would have associated with either group.  Jefferson was a staunch believer in republicanism and the rights of states, with a limited federal government that served the interests of the people.  He had a deep distrust for banks and other governmental institutions.  Upon the founding of the Bank of the United States, he stated:  “I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”  While he deemed a federal government necessary, it should never infringe upon the rights of individuals.

It is strangely ironic, then, to consider that the man who championed individual rights in early America was also a slaveholder.  During his lifetime, he quite often made the case for the immorality of slavery.  Yet he failed to act, partly due to the fact that he was renowned for running deeply into debt.  Slavery for him was a financial necessity.  Similarly to Abraham Lincoln, he also saw the black people as an inferior race.  He wrote, “Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than that these people are to be free. [But] the two races…cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion has drawn indelible lines of distinction between them.”  That same man who wrote of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could not bring himself to grant those rights to the African American.

It is important that we understand this aspect of Jefferson’s character, so that we might fully understand the hero of American republicanism.  Like Lincoln, he lived in a slaveholding society, where the South was increasingly dependent upon slaves for its economy.  The job of abolishing slavery, in his view, should be pushed on to future generations who would hopefully become less and less tied to the practice.  It is this view, coupled with his statements on American banking above, that I wish to place my focus.

The United States currently is in the midst of a deepening recession.  The Democratic majority in Congress, coupled with a Democratic president, see the solution to this crisis in the form of deficit spending, in the hope that this will “stimulate” economic growth.  In Jefferson’s words, “spending money to be paid by posterity”.  Recently, a stimulus bill was passed that the majority of Congress didn’t even take the time to read.  Had they read it, they would have been greeted with a bill filled with special interest projects, one of which consisted of a railroad being built in Senator Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada.  Another amount went towards the creation of “green” golf carts.  Prohibitions on funding towards stadiums, community parks, museums, and other buildings was also dropped, allowing states to spend money on whatever suits the fancy of the local officials, according to US News and World Report.  This hardly sounds like responsible government, and certainly not the limited government of Jefferson.

Certainly, these serious economic times call for action.  But what kind of action?  Is the government really taking the time, regardless of how “serious” it is, to evaluate all of the options on the table?  Or has the recession simply given the ruling power in Washington the opportunity to push their own agenda, without regard for the needs and concerns of the American people?  There is fault on both sides of the political spectrum, to be sure.  But it is up to the majority in power, the Democrats, to include Republicans in the debate and discuss options.  President Obama has stated on many occasions that he would indeed listen to the other party’s concerns and address them, but the passing of the stimulus bill illustrated a president who was unwavering in pushing a bill through that was molded by solely Democratic hands.  Republicans were told to stop playing political games and “get on board” with the bill.  Yet Republicans truly did have genuine concerns about the bill.  For some reason, concerns about the bill were seen as concerns with the Democratic party.

It is unclear how long the American people will allow politicians in Congress to play these games.  Surely, not for much longer.

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