Editor’s Note: Part of my autobiography in progress presents my experiences regarding work juxtaposed with the Reagan Revolution. This opening of part two is how I introduce the dialectic between my work experience, family life, and social changes after Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. This social environment would affect our family a lot through the years. Per every author who writes about writing, this is not the final draft.
Working title: Transition from bachelor to husband
Returning to Iowa from military service, it was tough to find work after graduate school. I made a conscious decision to stop moving from place to place, from activity to activity, and settle down. In June 1981, I looked for work that would pay the bills to stay in Johnson County. Then, and to some extent now, that’s where social action is for young, liberal-minded people in Iowa.
Buying every local newspaper, I marked each job in the help wanted pages with an “X” after contacting the company. The work environment had changed from a decade previously when all a person had to do was make the rounds of major employers to find a good paying, union job. No more.
My application for work got extra points for consideration at the university because of my military service. That led to more job offers. I took a job at the College of Dentistry because it was offered. At the University of Iowa there was a small retirement plan, no pension, and no health benefits.
About a month later, on Aug. 3, 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike. President Ronald Reagan ordered them back to work and on Aug. 5, he fired 11,345 workers who did not cross the picket line, breaking, and ultimately decertifying the union. While on a later business trip to Philadelphia, I met Reagan’s chief counsel in the PATCO action. We discussed the strike and Reagan’s handling of these government employees. My understanding of the action was confirmed. It was political.
What started in 1981 with the PATCO strike continues, without apology, as part of Reagan’s legacy of breaking unions. The unintended and maybe not considered consequence of Reagan’s union policy was to make life harder for middle class workers like me.
I met my future spouse at the beginning of the Reagan Revolution while we both worked at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. We got to know each other, and a year after the PATCO strike, I proposed marriage on Aug. 18, 1982.
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One reply on “The Reagan Revolution and Us”
The Reagan years were arduous for our family and almost all the other lower middle class families for which I was acquainted while growing up in rural Iowa. Farmers were losing their family farms due to foreclosure and student loans for those pursuing professional degrees became predatory with their interest rates going as high as 12% +. The pay-back on these loans ended up being double the principal borrowed and more. The Reagan administration changed everything for the worst in this country and (the way I see it) was the beginning of the era of greed and income inequality on steroids for which by now (and sadly) are forevermore. If the country could just imagine how much better things would be nowadays had Carter gotten a 2nd term in 1980 and Al Gore had been able to become president instead of GW in year 2000. Opportunities missed.
Having grown up in Iowa, I find Mr. Deaton’s posts enjoyable and relatable. Looking forward to reading his autobiography when it comes out.
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