The Republican Champion of the Middle Class

Once upon a time there was a Republican president who was a friend of the middle class, gave them a break and made the rich pay for it. He presided over one of the most robust economic growths in history, and made America great. No slogans, no razzmatazz, just action.

During his administration the tax rates for the middle class were lower than they are today, but the tax on the morbidly wealthy were much higher, with the top marginal rate being 91% after the first four and a half million dollars yearly income, in today’s dollars.

Under this scheme, enough revenue was raised to pay down an enormous national debt, build America’s current Interstate Highway System, the St. Lawrence Seaway (jointly with Canada), the Distant Early Warning radar network, a massive expansion of the military, including bases and NORAD, the establishment of NASA, dams, irrigation projects, hospitals, research centres, federal government buildings, and research centres. The Post Office was expanded and well funded, and actually delivered mail cheaply and quickly.

Although he was philosophically against federal intervention in education, he nevertheless pushed out significant funding for science and math education, initiated the first major federal student loan program, and provided equipment for schools teaching the core subjects which would make America safe and competitive.

In civil rights, he sent federal troops to Little Rock to enforce Brown v. Board integration. In health care, he provided funding to construct hospitals nationwide, added disability benefits to Social Security, and created the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Funding for medical research was substantially increased, as well as enhancing veterans’ services.

When the Salk vaccine was approved to fight against the childhood scourge of polio, his administration rolled out a massive vaccination program, causing polio cases to drop from over 35,000 annually to under one hundred. School health programs were expanded, as well as support for maternal and child health services. School lunch programs were significantly expanded.

This president was a man of humble beginnings who had actually amounted to something in his pre-presidential life. He had been the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War Two.

His name was Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican.

But that was then.