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Essay / Individualism and Its Corruption of President Ronald Reagan's Political Legacy
President Reagan's regime from 1981 to 1989 was typical of massive greed, corruption, rampant individualism, and selfishness of politicians, investors and government officials who have seized, manipulated and squandered national resources. resources for their own benefit. This was the time when the accumulation of wealth became a national obsession. Instead of seeking individual rights and civic obligations for the common good, everyone seemed to care first about their own needs. Individualism was so powerful that each citizen locked himself away in the solitude of his heart. But all of this was the result of Reagan's contempt for government and his glorification of self-interest. Officials placed personal gains above the public interest (Boyer, 980, p. 404). The cloud of opportunity and greed have overtaken federal bonds. By the end of Reagan's term, 138 administration officials had been convicted of corruption. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Conveniently, the get-rich-quick era saw corporate takeovers, highly leveraged buyouts, and junk bond millionaires risk imprisonment after being convicted of criminal offenses. -collar crimes. Sterner commented that this is America's most selfish generation. The main concerns that surfaced included misleading pricing, escalating military spending, inflated labor costs as well as procurement abuses at the Pentagon. Federal agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) were so corrupt that their top officials spread fraudulent contracts worth millions to “politically connected” builders and consultants. Wedtech Company, for example, won $250 million in no-bid minority contracts, but ultimately collapsed and was declared bankrupt after its internals faced multiple scandals. Attorney General Edwin Meese was also indicted for accepting bribes and falsifying tax returns. Individualism has also crippled investment. High-flying dealmakers made headlines and ruled Wall Street. The torrent of mergers has been accompanied by hostile takeover bids from runners. High interest rates in the late 1970s caused S&Ls to raise their prices to attract deposits, even though their capital was tied up in low-interest mortgages. As the above makes clear, individualism corrupted the legacy of the Reagan presidency, and in the end he declared that all he wanted was a country where everyone could get rich..