On this 100th anniversary of the birth of U.S. President Ronald W. Reagan, I had the opportunity to answer a comment sent to USMA that repeated what I call the U.S. metricationist's dogma that President Reagan "stopped" or "derailed" metrication in America because he ended funding for the U.S. Metric Board.
The commenter wrote: I wonder how many people remember that it was President Reagan who took us > off a metric progress road. Our country is now in a very uncompetitive > position because of this wrong-headed decision. I doubt that this legacy > will be highlighted in the 100th birthday tribute. We are reaping what > was sown in 1982. I replied: You may be surprised to learn that, contrary to the dogma that has been widely circulated among American metrication supporters, Mr. Reagan did much to keep America on a metrication path. In 1982, U.S. metrication was not doing well at all . The goal had very few champions in government or business and did not enjoy the necessary widespread support from the U.S. public. The U.S. Metric Board (USMB), established by the Metric Coversion Act of 1975 (MCA) merely to "coordinate the increasing use of the metric system in the U.S." and to do that without any compulsory powers, was itself divided in its commitment to the goal (see http://www.metric.org/laws/usmb.html#disbanding ). It even reported to Congress in 1981 that it lacked a mandate to continue its work. In his search for ways to reduce federal spending, President Reagan identified the USMB as a government body that was moribund, and eliminated its funding, for which he has been vilified by metrication supporters. But at this same time, he rejected a proposal by former U.S. Representative Eldon Rudd (R-AZ) to repeal the MCA. He later strengthened the MCA in 1988 by signing into law legislation that declared the metric system to be the Nation's preferred system of measurement for trade and commerce (http://www.metric.org/laws/metric-conv.html). Paul Trusten, R.Ph. , Vice President U.S. Metric Association, Inc. www.metric.org [email protected] +1(432)528-8824
