President Jimmy Carter
What really happened . . .
President Jimmy Carter
Today the nation is observing a National Day of Mourning for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29th at age 100. He is being praised by many for his years as President. Many are throwing accolades his direction, which is appropriate during a time such as this, but let’s be honest . . .
· The US Department of Education was started by him as payback to the National Education Association for helping get him elected.
· He gave the Panama Canal back to Panama.
· The US lost all respect on the world stage
· Energy crisis i.e. gas lines at the gas pumps; price of gas goes over 50 cents a gallon, never to get below that price again.
· Rampant inflation
American schools and students are still suffering under the US Department of Education’s dictates. Title IX being the most recent example. Thankfully, also today, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves of Kentucky scrapped the entire Title IX regulation change which forced schools to open girls’ private facilities i.e. bathrooms, showers and locker rooms, to boys who identify as girls. The rule, which went into effect on August 1st, had already been halted in 26 Republican-led states. This is truly a win for common sense and a perfect example of how dangerous it is for the federal government to be involved in education. Nowhere in the US Constitution is this role given to the US government. Days ago, the Biden Administration withdrew its rule change on gender confused boys in girls’ sports. Education should be focusing on academics, not social engineering!
On November 18, 1903 the US recognized the new Republic of Panama and signed the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty which granted America exclusive and permanent possession of the Panama Canal Zone. According to history.com, “Panama received $10 million and an annuity of $250,000 beginning nine years later”. Twenty-five thousand workers died in the construction of the canal -- some from landslides, flooding, premature detonation of dynamite, electrocution, the heat or malaria and yellow fever. Additionally, many were maimed and lost limbs. In fact, artificial limb makers competed for coveted contracts with the canal builders. The Panama Canal officially opened on August 15, 1914. Also from history.com: “The Panama Canal cost the United States around $375,000,000—this figure includes the $10,000,000 paid to Panama and $40,000,000 paid to the French when they abandoned the project.” In 1977 President Jimmy Carter and Panama leader Omar Torrijos signed a treaty indicating the Panama Canal Authority would assume full control of the canal by December 31, 1999. President Carter also signed the Neutrality Treaty with Torrijos, which guaranteed the permanent neutrality of the canal and gave the United States the right to use military force, if necessary, to keep the canal open. As of 2021, sixty-eight percent of the Canal’s cargo traffic began or ended its journey at a U.S. port, which China was 16 percent. Currently, Hutchinson Whampoa, with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, manages the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on both sides of the canal. Yes, there is great cause to be concerned!!
The biggest foreign relations debacle during the Carter administration was the fall of Iran to Islamic extremists led by Ayatollah Khomeini in January 1978. This overthrow of the US-friendly government of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, created instant instability in the Middle East. The downfall of Iran took place so quickly, taking US politicians, who had long ignored the discontent rumblings within that nation, by surprise. U.S. policymakers could not contemplate “thinking the unthinkable,” as the last U.S. ambassador to Tehran described the prospect of the shah’s overthrow, until it was too late. In February 1979, a US diplomat commented, “We used to run this country. Now we don’t even run our own embassy.” That proved to be true as on November 1979 the US embassy in Tehran was overtaken by Khomeini loyalists and its personnel taken as hostages. A rescue attempt by US military in April 1980 catastrophically failed. Their 444-day ordeal did not end until minutes after the inauguration of Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan.
In 1973 OPEC cut oil exports to the US as retaliation for our support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli War. In 1977, President Carter addressed the nation, encouraging Americans to turn down their thermostats in order to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. Later in 1977 Carter created the US Department of Energy, which just days ago banned about 40 percent of tankless gas-fired water heaters currently on the market. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created by the US in 1975. In April 1977 President Carter chose underground salt domes in Louisiana and Texas as the storage areas and began filling them later that year. They have a maximum capacity of 714 million gallons. Several presidents have tapped into the reserve, but outgoing President Biden leaves it dangerously low during these uncertain times. The National Energy Act of 1978 provided tax credits for renewable energy sources and raised fuel efficiency requirements. To prove how dedicated he was to the use of “clean” renewable energy, in 1979 President Carter actually had 32 solar panels installed on the White House roof. All those panels heated water for household use. President Reagan had them removed in 1986. The Energy Security Act of 1980 was a packet of bills that increased support for synthetic fuels, as well as biomass, solar, geothermal and ocean energy. Another step that was taken was demanding that all states lower their speed limits to 50 mph. My memories of this time period are the long gas lines at gas stations, the rationing of gas, the price of gas going over 50 cents a gallon. At that point, as I put gas in the car at a Houston, TX Gulf station, I can remember thinking the price of gas would never go below 50 cents again and I was right!
Double digit inflation speaks for itself! Many factors played into this, but Carter’s ‘solutions’ did not help resolve the issue. From Investopedia.com “The average year-over-year inflation rate under President Jimmy Carter was 9.9%, the highest inflation rate among U.S. presidents so far. Stagflation continued from the Nixon and Ford years and was exacerbated by an energy crisis that led to skyrocketing gas prices and shortages. While higher energy prices fueled inflation, core inflation (excluding volatile food and energy prices) remained high through the 1970s. During Carter’s term, the misery index which is the unemployment rate plus inflation—reached a record high of 21.98%. The Carter administration’s methods to cool inflation by reducing the budget deficit and deregulation to increase competition and limit price increases were thwarted by a surge of energy inflation in 1979, which pushed inflation over 13% by the end of 1979.”
A soft-spoken peanut farmer and Sunday School teacher proved not to be the best choice for America, but we survived. The voters corrected their 1976 error and elected Ronald Reagan twice. His policies put the US back on course. Americans have suffered through the last four years under yet another Democrat president and his policies. On November 5, 2024 the voters decided it was time for a change in policy!