Richard Nixon was popular with american steelmakers because he was buying steel to make lots of bombs to drop on Vietnam. So many bombs that the American steelmills couldn't keep up with the demand. Japan and Germany had bee buying US steel and started building their own. When the Arab Oil boycott hit the Japanese and Germans, with their newer, more efficient factories could make cars much cheaper than the USA.

Later, Ronald Reagan tore down Jimmy Carter's White House solar panels because that's what the oil industry told him to do.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's funny how often Right wing policies end up hurting the industries they claim to want to help.

It has to be a combination of dishonesty and incompetence. Maybe with a splash of corruption added in for good measure.

I don't see any other explanation.

[–] No_Maines_Land@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago

Croneyism.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ronald Reagan tore down Jimmy Carter’s White House solar panels because that’s what the oil industry told him to do.

White House never had solar panels. They had a solar water heating system that degraded badly, never worked properly and cost too much to repair.

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 1 points 1 month ago

I love when people use tiny details to obscure the big picture.

Carter tried to get america off the oil habit and Reagan doubled down on oil.

Anything else is just nonsense.