Remembering Reagan on His 100th B'day!

[wkmac]

Post mortem circa 1989'


Reagan's best role that he should have gotten the Oscar for

 

[cachsux]

I miss the days of just threatening our enemies with nukes.

 

[Babagounj]

instead of giving away our allies secrets to our enemies.

 

[bbsam]

I miss the days of just threatening our enemies with nukes.

It's not too late. We could just give Iran five nuclear warheads and tell them, "Take care of them, because if you don't we will turn your entire nation into a vast nuclear wasteland. By the way, we lose more nukes in a year than you have right now. Have a good day."

 

[cachsux]

It's not too late. We could just give Iran five nuclear warheads and tell them, "Take care of them, because if you don't we will turn your entire nation into a vast nuclear wasteland. By the way, we lose more nukes in a year than you have right now. Have a good day."

Tell them they now have the ability to defend themselves but also let them know we have 5000 more as backup.

 

[bbsam]

See? With the proper Cold War mentallity the good old days of nuclear holocaust are just around the corner!

 

[cachsux]

Peace and Goodwill towards all men.

 

[moreluck]

hey, we women want a piece too !!

 

[ajblakejr]

God Bless America.

 

[wkmac]

hey, we women want a piece too !!

OK! Follow me.

 

[ajblakejr]

Post mortem circa 1989'


Reagan's best role that he should have gotten the Oscar for

Because of Reagan, I learned what National Pride felt like and that it was really okay to be an American.

Trust me, as an teenaged American girl, politics really did not matter or affect me, I was more concerned with how my hair feathered, driving my Mom's car with the big V8, scoring high on the ACT and SAT tests and showing off my boobees.

Ronnie caused me to pause and take notice.

Give him an Oscar.
He got the attention of a self-centered, private Catholic all-girls school, stuck-up and "better than you" BIA-cth.

 

[bbsam]

So it's because of Ronnie that you stopped showing off you boobees? And we are to believe that this is a good thing?

 

[wkmac]

The Sad Legacy of Ronald Reagan

 

[ajblakejr]

So it's because of Ronnie that you stopped showing off you boobees? And we are to believe that this is a good thing?

Nope.
I just poked guys in the eye with them while on the campaign trail for Ronnie.

 

[packageguy]

Long live Mr. Reagan. Was a very good man

 

[wkmac]

The Reagan Revolution was a Lincoln Day Dinner speech. It never happened in the real world of fiscal policy. During the 1980's, Big Government got bigger and the Federal tax burden was just shuffled, not reduced. The main fiscal legacy of the Reagan era is that the Federal debt was raised from $1 trillion to $3 trillion. Unfortunately, when the economy rebounded after Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker's conquest of runaway inflation, Republicans embraced the dangerous shibboleth that deficit-financed tax cuts are good for growth.
The reason spending went up is that there was no reform of the big entitlements like Social Security and Medicare and not a single department or function of government was eliminated.... Further, many of the initial cuts in discretionary programs were restored over the years, and the cost of interest on the ballooning Federal debt rose significantly.
The tax burden rose during the Reagan era as well. Specifically, when Reagan left office Federal taxes accounted for 18.4 percent of GDP -- a figure slightly higher than the 1960-80 average of 18.0 percent. More importantly, nearly half of the massive 1981 tax reduction -- festooned as it was with every manner of special interest tax breaks that K-Street lobbyists could conjure -- was recouped during the next four years in a series of annual deficit reduction bills that a bi-partisan majority was able to persuade the President to sign.
​

At the end of the day, during the 1980s income tax rates were lowered, the tax base was broadened through loop-hole closing and the 1986 tax reform act and the payroll tax was raised by a full percentage point of GDP as part of the 1982 Social Security rescue plan. On net, however, there was no reduction in the total Federal tax burden during the Reagan era. What survived was an anti-tax religious catechism which has left the country with two free lunch parties and no prospect of responsible fiscal governance.
​

David Stockman, Reagan Budget Director

 

[Jones]

What survived was an anti-tax religious catechism which has left the country with two free lunch parties and no prospect of responsible fiscal governance.

I'd say that sums it up pretty well.

 

[bbsam]

I'd say that sums it up pretty well.

And to that the collective nation should say, "Uh-Oh."

 

[wkmac]

Reagan failed to achieve some of the initial goals of his initial program. The federal budget was substantially reallocated—from discretionary domestic spending to defense, entitlements, and interest payments—but the federal budget share of national output declined only slightly. Both the administration and Congress were responsible for this outcome. Reagan supported the large increase in defense spending and was unwilling to reform the basic entitlement programs, and Congress was unwilling to make further cuts in the discretionary domestic programs. Similarly, neither the administration nor Congress was willing to sustain the momentum for deregulation or to reform the regulation of health, safety, and the environment.

Reagan left three major adverse legacies at the end of his second term. First, the privately held federal debt increased from 22.3 percent of GDP to 38.1 percent and, despite the record peacetime expansion, the federal deficit in Reagan's last budget was still 2.9 percent of GDP. Second, the failure to address the savings and loan problem early led to an additional debt of about $125 billion. Third, the administration added more trade barriers than any administration since Hoover. The share of U.S. imports subject to some form of trade restraint increased from 12 percent in 1980 to 23 percent in 1988.

There was more than enough blame to go around for each of these problems. Reagan resisted tax increases, and Congress resisted cuts in domestic spending. The administration was slow to acknowledge the savings and loan problem, and Congress urged forbearance on closing the failing banks. Reagan's rhetoric strongly supported free trade, but pressure from threatened industries and Congress led to a substantial increase in new trade restraints. The future of Reaganomics will depend largely on how each of these three adverse legacies is resolved. Restraints on spending and regulation would sustain Reaganomics. But increased taxes and a reregulation of domestic and foreign trade would limit Reaganomics to an interesting but temporary experiment in economic policy.

The Reagan economic program led to a substantial improvement in economic conditions, but there was no "Reagan revolution." No major federal programs (other than revenue sharing) and no agencies were abolished. The political process continues to generate demands for new or expanded programs, but American voters continue to resist higher taxes to pay for these programs. A broader popular consensus on the appropriate roles of the federal government, one or more constitutional amendments, and a new generation of political leaders may be necessary to resolve this inherent conflict in contemporary American politics.

William A. Niskenen, member of Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors 81'-85' and now Chairman of the Cato Institute. From his article "Reaganomics" in the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics that I quoted above, Niskenen by all accounts was also not completely negative on Reagan either in the piece and also rightly pointed out other factors to blame. What I also found most interesting was on the issue of de-regulation, an issue that democrats love to use as a whipping boy against Reagan but let's turn it on it's head.

Quoting Niskenen in paragraph #7:

The reduction in economic regulation that started in the Carter administration continued, but at a slower rate. Reagan eased or eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas, cable TV, long-distance telephone service, interstate bus service, and ocean shipping. Banks were allowed to invest in a somewhat broader set of assets, and the scope of the antitrust laws was reduced. The major exception to this pattern was a substantial increase in import barriers. The Reagan administration did not propose changes in the legislation affecting health, safety, and the environment, but it reduced the number of new regulations under the existing laws. Deregulation was clearly the lowest priority among the major elements of the Reagan economic program.

The 2 most powerful myths that both republicans and democrats have to hide, Niskenen exposes for all to see. That is republicans have held the mantle of de-regulation as a badge of honor and assigned to Ronnie when in truth de-regulation slowed under his watch and wasn't the biggee we are lead to believe it was. At the same time while democrats whipped that de-regulation pony into the ground, turns out their man Carter was the stable boy that fed and watered it into existence in the first place. When you consider Niskenen's position and perspective then and now, it proves most interesting to say the least!

 

[ajblakejr]

The greatest gift of Ronald Reagan's Legacy is Awareness of Alzheimer's.

Imagine yourself in his shoes.
Imagine looking in the mirror knowing that someday you will be a shell.

Acts of brave men are selfless...

So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.
Ronald Reagan