Thomas R. Gaona – 12/11/05

This page was last updated on December 11, 2005.

Reagan dime is an insult; Thomas R. Gaona; Beaver County Times; December 11, 2005.

I oppose removing FDR from the dime as well, but not for the same reasons as Mr. Goana.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I recently read that the federal government is considering taking Franklin D. Roosevelt off the American dime and replacing him with Ronald Reagan’s portrait.

“I can’t think of anything that Reagan did as president to impress the American people. The one thing that sits in my mind was the firing of the air traffic controllers, which was the beginning of the end of unions in the United States, the same unions that fought the great money companies to get an eight-hour work day, 40-hour work week, a decent hourly wage that you could raise a family on, health and life insurance, vacation time and health and life insurance and pensions for retirees.”

[RWC] Folks like Mr. Gaona like to forget the air traffic controllers broke the law by going on strike. Those who blindly support labor union management believe that nothing done by unions is illegal.

“I don’t think that the many steel workers in this valley and all of those in this country who have lost everything want such a dime to carry in their pockets.”

[RWC] I know Mr. Goana won’t admit it, but a big reason why some people “lost everything” was that the pay and benefits demanded by union management over the decades were not sustainable. Any time you demand more compensation than a job is worth, that job’s days are numbered. The fact is, “the chickens are coming home to roost.”

“Also, to add insult to injury, we now have a national airport named after Reagan.

“Only in America.”

[RWC] Folks like Mr. Gaona amuse me. Instead of telling us all of the alleged good reasons why FDR should remain on the dime, Mr. Goana instead tries to demean Ronald Reagan.