A Phil Hall Op-Ed: Today marks the 100th birthday of Jimmy Carter, which makes him the first president in US history to achieve a century’s worth of living.
Carter is not widely viewed as one of the most successful presidents – indeed, he was the first incumbent since Herbert Hoover to lose his re-election campaign. But it is a mistake to dismiss Jimmy Carter’s presidency as a complete failure, especially in relation to real estate and housing policy.
During Carter’s presidency, two significant pieces of reform legislation became law: the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which address the long and shameful history of redlining by the banking industry, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 that created the Superfund environmental remediation program. Carter also made a wonderful decision in choosing Patricia Roberts Harris as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – while her appointment was historic for being the first for a Black woman, Harris did an excellent job in focusing on the “urban development” aspect of her department. Unfortunately, Carter opted to reappoint Harris to serve as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in 1979 and replace her with former New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, who was far less effective in the job.
Carter was also prescient in using the administration to kickstart a modern era of deregulation, breaking down government regulatory monopolies on multiple industries. He was also on-target in bringing the Department of Energy into the presidential cabinet, giving energy policy a level of attention that it previously lacked.
Yes, Carter had multiple weaknesses as a president that helped to secure his rejection by voters in 1980 in favor of Ronald Reagan – those of us who were around during that era can recall his shortcomings and don’t need to be reminded of where he went wrong, while those of us who were born after the fact are invited to read up about Carter’s flaws elsewhere.
However, Carter was probably the most active and respected former president in the nation’s history – his work with on behalf of Habitat for Humanity and his nonprofit Carter Center were peerless contributions to the betterment of mankind. Carter received the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts (according to the Nobel Foundation) “to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development” through the Carter Center.
I should also pay tribute to the former president’s wife Rosalynn Carter, who passed away last November. She was often poorly treated by the media during the Carter administration but who brought intelligence and sincerity to the White House. In one of his last interviews to date, he said in a 2019 interview with People magazine that he never expected to enjoy such a long life and credited his longevity to a good marriage.
Today, Carter is in hospice care, but according to his family he is still aware of and following current events. In view of the crass nature of politics percolating today from both parties, I wish we could have people like Carter back on the political scene. He is an honest, decent, sincere and patriotic American, and our political environment could benefit from more individuals of his character and love of country.
Happy 100th Birthday, President Carter! God bless you and thank you for your service to our country!
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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