If you call yourself a fiscal conservative and a "Ronald Reagan Republican" you might want to look at some numbers comparing Reagan to President Barack Obama.
At the end of 1980, just before Reagan took office, the national debt was $908 billion. At the end of 1985 the debt was $1.828 billion. It grew 101 percent during his first five years.
In 2008, just before Obama took office, the national debt was $10.025 billion. At the end of his fifth year in office it was estimated at $17 billion. It grew 65 percent in his first five years.
So if you are looking for a president who robbed future generations, look at, among others, Reagan.
From 1980, when Reagan took office, to today, the minimum wage has only gone up 116 percent. But the official cost of living index has gone up by 182 percent. If the minimum wage had kept pace with the official cost of living, then the minimum wage would be increased to $8.88.
But there is a flaw in all these calculations.
The cost of living index does not include items that have increased the most over the years.
To be precise, it excludes automobile fuel costs, heating costs and health insurance costs.
All of these have skyrocketed in the 21st century. So the true rise in the cost of living is significantly understated by the official statistics.
For example, in the 1980s regular gasoline was usually about $0.96 per gallon. Today it runs about $3.30 per gallon. That is an increase of 240 percent. The wholesale cost of heating oil at the end of the Reagan years ran about $0.40 per gallon. Currently it runs about $3 wholesale. That is an increase of 650 percent.
Obama has proposed an increase of the minimum wage to $10.10. His critics say that would cost jobs. But the manager of the local fast food restaurant is not going to close his doors because he has to pay his crew a little more. Costco already has a minimum wage of $10.10 and an average hourly wage closer to $20 an hour. They are doing just fine. And the entire state of Washington has a minimum wage of $9.32 an hour and an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent.
The highest minimum wage in the country is in the city of San Francisco at $10.24. The latest reported unemployment rate there (August 2013) was 5.6 percent and dropping.
There are of course examples that point the other way. But a higher minimum wage does not necessarily correlate with a higher unemployment rate. If Congress refuses to raise the minimum wage, then Maryland should raise it instead. Twenty states have already done so. Economists agree, such a higher minimum would increase the nation's gross domestic product significantly. And that will by itself reduce the annual deficit. The same can be said for extending unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed.
One last point: During Reagan's first term he issued 213 executive orders. During Obama's first term he issued 147 executive orders. That latter count is the least in a first or only term since Grover Cleveland. So concerns about Obama ruling by decree are heavily overstated. His recent raise of the minimum wage on federal projects is clearly within his regulatory power. Maryland should follow his example.
