Yeah I was mobile, so you will probably find a lot of that. I have a treo 800 and it's running a little slow right now, and I'm very impatient. I hope you got the gist of my post though.
The same Republican Congress that immediately turned that surplus into record deficits when Clinton left the White House?
I could not stand Reagan. He was good at one part of his job, and that was lifting the morale of the country. He obviously didn't lift everyone's morale, but in general he made Americans feel good about being American after a prolonged bad spell. His economic policy never trickled down, and he started the huge deficit spending and large debt increases that went on until Clinton, and then since Clinton. In foreign policy, he was a nightmare. He acted illegally in Central America, invaded Grenada when no invasion was necessary at all. He actually vetoed sanctions against South Africa. He tried to override congress in support of Apartheid. There is no excuse for that. Luckily Congress overrode his veto. He sold arms to Iran. He sold arms to a nation that supported the terrorists that blew up the Marines in Lebanon, and sent suicide bombers into Israel. He appointed JAmes Watt as SEc. of the Interior. The guy out and out was a problem.
I seriously doubt Regan really understood reganomics. He probably just pushed what his handlers told him to do. I don't think he was that bright or maybe it was the old age. It was voodoo economics then and it still is today. Growing the deficit by 3x doesn't seem like a sustainable model. But he did have charisma.
I was alive in the 80s! Yeah, you dropped a deuce in the toilet instead of your pants for the first time in 1989. Really alive kid.
reagan was responsible for genocide in latin america propping up brutal, repressive regimes and dictators backing saddam in the iran/iraq war and at the same time covertly backing iran out of control spending and driving up the national debt to unprecedented levels (why does that always happen under republicans?) our state legislature refused to name a highway in honor of willie nelson, but they are slapping reagans name all over anything they can. its disgusting.
Maybe you haven't heard this so I hate to be the first to tell you... Your hero, Willie Nelson... Spoiler He smokes mar1juana! I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!
Ask Reagan supporters why they think he's great, and this will be the first and primary reason cited. In my experience, after this it tends to get a little muddy. And we've debunked the winger fantasy of Star Wars spending the Soviet Union into bankruptcy thing here countless times... http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=2537336&postcount=40
When Reagan came into office the country was a t a 73 billion deficit when he left office that rosed to 153 billion. It topped off at year 6 with 221 billion. Under Reagan the country's Unemployment rate rose to 10.8% in 1983 and the average for that year was 9.7%. The drug epidemic rosed highly and Cartel leaders from other countries were deported multiple times. The country focused on prisoning the citizens involved hear but continually let drug lords free. Also the crack epidimic he decided to raise the prison time for crack cocaine possesion, which really means he put people in jail longer for have a less pure drug and put the focus on small time dealers than large time transporters.
Happy to have voted against Ronnie twice, but you have to give this to him... he looks pretty damned good compared to George W. Bush.
You are aware that it is the president, not the congress, that sets the budget, right? Did you take Social Studies in high school?
Perhaps, but we should give Obama the benefit of his term(s) in office, then a little time after, before pronouncing him overrated.
my friends and I were going off on this last night. its unbelievable, this is a large part of reagan's legacy that no one remembers from either side of the aisle. to think we basically showed support for segregation in another country in the freakin 1980's
there is lots of valid criticism of reagan...but i can't pin unemployment on him, anymore than i can on barack today. it's a lagging indicator...the economy was in the crapper. particularly bad here. "stay alive until '85." same banking crap over and over again plagues us. public takes all the risk...private interests get all the reward.
i agree. i remember being upset about this AS A KID. seems like that's the exact opposite of everything we claim to stand for. unfortunately, that keeps happening!
