The American Spectator : From Coolidge to Harding

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From Coolidge to Harding

By Ben Stein from the April 2009 issue

Wondering what Mr. Obama knows.

(Page 2 of 2)

Plus, home prices have not really fallen enough. They are still insanely high compared with prices 10 years ago. The housing market has revived where prices have fallen sharply. It has not revived where they are propped up. To prop them up introduces a rigidity into the system that we simply do not need or want. Well, anyway. It is all maddening. And I am getting scared. I was not even 30 when I started writing for this magazine. Now, I am 64. What do I do? What about my dwindling stock portfolio? What do I do about that? What do I do with my homes that I bought in moments of wild euphoria? How will I support myself when I am old and gray? I am terrified and that makes me fearful and angry.

I am really angry that “they”—the speculators— have stolen my peace of mind. But to be fair, I stole it from myself by my spendthrift ways and by extending myself too far. I really believed that we were in stable times and above all I believed the government would keep things on an even keel. I did not plan for calamity, as the saying goes, and now I am paying for it.

Thursday

HOWEVER, NOW I AM IN MY GLORY. I am in Searcy, Arkansas, speaking at Harding University. This is a bit of heaven. The town is adorable. More than that, the people are fabulously kind. This is a Church of Christ school, like beloved Pepperdine. Wow, does it show. Good people. Smart people. The cutest thing there was a little 10-year-old girl who saw me walking across a lobby, turned toward me, and shook my hand as if she were a woman running for governor, as I am sure she soon will be. When I introduced her to the crowd, she waved to them as if she were Maggie Thatcher. I had a huge, immense crowd. They cheered and applauded. It was bliss. Hundreds wanted autographs. Again, ego bliss.

I had felt a bit tired earlier in the day, but the moment I got on the Harding campus, I felt great. When the speech was over, a high official of the school said he hoped I would have a safe trip home. I answered, “I am home.” I really love those people. No coincidence that my wife is from Arkansas and her hero father lived and died in Heber Springs, not far from there. By the way, I have his Silver Star and his citation for it right next to my desk in Rancho Mirage. I don’t think he fought for an America run by speculators— and run into the ground. We have got to do something about this situation. No one elected the speculators. Where did they get their money power over us? When did they start running the government, too?

Anyway, enough about that. Time to think about Harding, as fine a place as I have ever been.

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About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (19) | Leave a comment

Aaron| 4.14.09 @ 7:29AM

Great article, scares the hell out of me to hear Mr. Stein say that he is scared, holly crap!

The line "I wonder if Mr. Obama even knows that" really says it all about the man. What it comes down to is not what he knows, its only about the agenda that he has already layed out in front of us and the quickest way to get there.

Steve | 4.14.09 @ 8:33AM

Ben, my brother in law is a bona fide rocket scientist. He is a Republican, and detests Obama's policies.

Steve| 4.14.09 @ 9:19AM

Steve and Aaron,
Obama's "agenda" was a reaction to the agenda started on January 20, 1981. Let me think, the national debt was a mere 1 trillion. In between then and now was to lower taxes and increase spending by the reps. The one democrat, Clinton raised taxes on those folks that could afford it and bang, what happened by the end of the 90s, EVERYBODY benefited! And there was a surplus. For the record, in 2001 I tore up my 300 bucks I got when Bushie issued those tax rebate checks and sent it back to the WH.

Big J| 4.14.09 @ 9:42AM

"This was all a grievous set of faults by Mr. Bush, and grievously hath he answered for it."

Not really surprising - "It's George Bush's fault".

" And, of course, he was partly black and in some way, that might have made people feel there was some “black approach” to economics that might work. After all, the “white” ways had been tried and found seriously wanting. So, people took him on faith and he was elected." Again, not surprising. Besides, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton still have jobs, right?

The first few paragraphs of your article, Mr. Stein, would normally have disqualified it from reading. I did continue reading, however. I was desperately searching for your point. Unfortunately, I found none, other than the love you have for your dogs (I love my pets, as well), and the fact that you have somehow come to the conclusion that government, not the free market is the economic savior we are all in need of. Ummmm..... not quite sure I get it, but whatever.

GK| 4.14.09 @ 10:13AM

I quit reading after the blaming of GW was paramount in the first couple of paragraphs and on and on. GW had a war to fight, to say he spent money foolishly is wrong. We have been safe in this country for 8 years. I am not confident about the next 2 years with bammy in the Oval Office.

ARealist| 4.14.09 @ 11:14AM

Ben is correct; Bush and the Republicans spent money like there was no tomorrow. The democrats excoriated Bush about his spending and they were right to do so.
True, 9/11 had to be dealt with, but Iraq was a war of choice. Saddam was merely an Arab version of Hitler or Stalin, but the USA cannot, nor should have entered into that war.
Also true is that Saddam would still be there, and, with the help of the Europeans, would be building up his nuclear capability - as are the Iranians.
But let those two tyrannical regimes duke it out. We cannot afford to get involved in these conflicts around the world; doing so always produces unpredictable results. Witness the mess in Pakistan where we are sending billions of dollars into a country whose populace hates the USA with zero results to show for the bucks.
Let India worry about them.

As for Obama, he is simply a Marxist. He knows exactly what he needs to do - decapitate militarily and economically the USA, who, in his mind, is the root of all evil in the world and whose economic system, once upon a time, capitalism, is the engine that drives the American "empire."

His goal, literally, is to turn the USA into a Cuba with, of course, himself and his other millionaire communist Wall Street financiers - almost all democrats by the way - running the show.

Aided by our reprehensible left wing media - who have never spotted a left wing tyrant they could not abide - Obama conducted the perfect coup d'etat, while the American electorate was simply melted into submission by his skin color , gifted oratory, charismatic personality and media encouraged and inspired hatred of Bush.

Obama is your typical Chomskian hate America firster. When viewed from this point of view, ALL his political decisions and goals are crystal clear.

Ben has a right to be scared, and so am I, for the first time in my life. Obama WILL destroy this country and everything that made it great.

Just like FDR and his "brain trust" retained their million dollar bank accounts and maintained their elite , aristocratic life styles in the midst of the Great Depression,while the American public was forced to live in misery and many in abject poverty because of FDRs Bolshevik inspired soical engineering, the millionaire Obama and his millionaire minions will also live like the aristocrats of Medieval Europe, while the average American citizen, will be reduced to serfdom.

This is Obama's goal; achieve and maintain absolute power over the masses - at any cost - while he retains the power and influence and riches due him.

God help the USA.

CF| 4.29.10 @ 11:26AM

you are a genius, keep up the great thinking!!!

Marc Jeric| 4.14.09 @ 12:51PM

Bravo, Ben Steyn, good article as always. But - he forgot to mention the Carter's "Community Redevelopment Act" enforced by threats of fines and prison by Frank and Dobbs under Clinton and by ACORN brownshirts demonstrations - which gave 11 million houses to "underserved minorities" without credit, without jobs, without a hope of paying those inflated mortgages ever. That artificial demand caused the housing bubble and the economic crisis we are now living under.

Tim| 4.14.09 @ 2:53PM

Owning ten houses seems about as useful to me as owning ten coffins. You thought you owned them but it turns out that they own you.
Metaphorically speaking, you'll never make it out of Egypt trying to carry all that sh*T on your back. You may not even get a night's sleep.
I begrudge you neither your wealth or your success but the vast majority of us live all our lives in one house and never travel, we get along just fine.
Get your head out of Egypt, and God bless.

Hank Rearden| 4.14.09 @ 10:05PM

Ben, I agree with your points about Bush starting this trend. Ironic considering Obama blames everything on the last eight years. What surprised me though is that you offer no real solution? Bush's first terms he sought tax cuts across the board and boom, a recession was avoided. However, why he chose this stimulus/welfare junk in his second term is beyond me. Follow the Kennedy/Reagan example as was mentioned on this site last week.

Guy| 4.14.09 @ 11:19PM

von Mises, Ben.
If interest rates are functionally zero, what incentive did you or I have to save other than the good old Protestant work ethic?
We could have survived everything else but a miscalculation by two Fed chairmen in a row. Greenspan kept rates too low, for too long, and Bernanke thinks more of the same spendthrift ways are somehow the solution. Of course, if we were on the gold standard, none of this would have been possible but I'm no Jack Kemp and I know you know Jack Kemp.
I doubt we're over-regulated, very possibly incompetently regulated though.
We're both too old to "live in interesting times".

Don Carlson| 4.15.09 @ 11:06AM

Who are these speculators you decry, Mr. Stein? Are they not the investors and finance houses that have served American capitalism well? Who is it assumes risk and does not speculate? If you wanted the government to "keep an even keel," you wanted too much. It was goverenment that determined the banks should make loans to people who had no hope of repaying the loan. It was government that decided the financial system needed to accomodate those unable to fend for themselves by giving them houses on terms ridiculous to both the borrowers and lenders. If you wished your investments--your speculations--to be secure, you wished for too much. You are risk averse, Mr. Stein, and, although we adore you, you are not a serious conservative. You are a whiner, and you belong in the other party.

Tim | 4.15.09 @ 11:51AM

That was uncalled for.

Guy| 4.16.09 @ 12:01AM

It was not only uncalled for, it cast his earlier points in a bad light as well. Mr. Stein is, if anything, a serious conservative. Are serious conservatives required to agree on everything, down to the jot and tittle? And if Ben Stein whines any more than the rest of us, which I do not find to be the case, he leavens it with a continuous revelation to us of the true joy found in life itself. Economies rise and fall, as do nations, yet dog's remain faithful for no apparent good reason, while consorting with the youth of America reassures us that all is not lost either. Ben Stein get's that and so, belongs right here, on the right.

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Hamingten| 11.20.10 @ 8:53AM

I wonder if Mr. Obama even knows that. Somehow, his choice of Mr. Geithner to run Treasury scares me to death. Mr. Geithner, I am sure,
http://www.mortgage-cal.net/is...../link]fine
The Planet's Lawyer, A Nation's Hero
fellow. But his background has been in creating the credit crisis—not in solving the crisis. He was head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank when the shenanigans were going on in a huge way. He argued for more deregulation. He argued against saving Lehman Brothers, which was probably the biggest financial mistake of all time. Now, somehow, the man with the dynamite is responsible for rebuilding the building. I don’t get it. If there were just deserts, he would be fired, not made head of Treasury.

Tom| 11.20.10 @ 8:56AM

I am sitting in the study of my home in Rancho Mirage. My glorious dogs, Brigid and Cleo, are sitting on the couch staring at me. Words cannot describe the love I feel for them. No. Not if I were Shakespeare. Not if I were Samuel Johnson. Nothing can describe the love I feel for these hounds. Loyal. Beautiful. Intelligent. Modest. Perfect. I love them. http://www.aldaily.com/On [url='http://www.aldaily.com/']http://www.aldaily.com/[/url]the other hand, I am doing a rapid burn about the state of the economy. Maybe by the time this appears, we will be in better shape. But for right now, [link='http://www.aldaily.com/']http://www.aldaily.com/[/link]here’s what I see.
you wished for too much. You are risk averse, Mr. Stein, and, although we adore you, you are not a serious conservative. http://www.aldaily.com/You are a whiner, and you belong in the other party.