“If we don’t learn the mistakes of history, we are doomed to repeat them.” – Winston Churchill
The talking heads are constantly pontificating about the virtue of the great Ronald Reagan. They long for a time when in their mind things were slower and better. They admire his ability to deliver the quote that will be replayed until the end of time. They admired his strength, courage, and positive attitude. Republicans long to model him; even our little man Governor Jindal. I did some elementary research and found FACTUAL information about his time as President; not that the right worries about fact.
1- In 1981 he signed into a law a massive tax cut which reduced government spending by 3%.
2- In 1982 he began to roll back the tax cuts for 3 years in an attempt to close the deficit.
3- In 1983 he signed a gasoline tax and social security tax that took money from individuals.
4- In 1984 he closed tax loopholes which in effect were tax increases.
5- In 1986 he lowered personal tax rates while signing the largest corporate tax increase since World War 2. Instead of calling it a tax raise, he called it tax restructuring.
6- While he was in office, the number of federal workers rose by 61,000. (During the Clinton Administration there was a reduction of 370,000 federal jobs).
7- The national deficit tripled during his time in office.
So why is he the darling of the right? He wouldn’t be a darling of the tea party. I call it “Word Magic”; saying something that sounds good but has little substance. Reagan didn’t fool with social problems. He famously said that when he grew up “America was unaware it had a race problem”. He didn’t mention the word AIDS publicly until 1984, giving the deadly virus a 4 year head start. He increased national defense to fight communism which was already beginning to fail. He made us feel safe and proud again when we were bruised by inflation and the Iran hostage crisis. He was polished because he was an ACTOR and knew all about word magic.
Trickle down economics is the biggest con job ever perpetrated on the American people. Cutting taxes for the most wealthy will allow them freedom to make life better for those beneath them in the great chain of being?????? People who have money want much more; helping other people or being philanthropic is secondary. Nobody is naturally responsible when it comes to profit, wanting it to increase while reducing cost by cutting corners if possible. And I don’t blame them one bit. But don’t tell me that life will be better for those at the bottom of the chain waiting for the trickle.
Reagan did something for the national self esteem. I credit him for that. However, he was not the conservative everyone fantasizes. He gutted regulatory agencies; creating an atmosphere where big business makes up the rules as they go along. This cavalier attitude toward rules and regulation started by Reagan and reinstated by Bush II is why Louisiana is soaked with BP oil. These antiquated attitudes toward financial, housing, and oil markets caught up with us in the last 5 years. Obama needs to fix the problem, which he is doing slowly, and continue to remind the people how this mess started. The right doesn’t like it, which is fine by me. After all, the Obama hating industry makes a mint in books, speakers, and websites. So hate as much as possible; revert to banal racial and personal insults when the argument is lost showing your true colors. Meanwhile, America is slowly healing. Our best days are still ahead. I’m just sayin……
