The Lies of the Ronald Reagan Legacy

On the 100th birthday of the 40th American president (1981–1989), Ronald Wilson Reagan, the truth must be told of his destructive presidency.

As America braces for the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth, we face another "Neo-Con-niption" fit of disinformation, myths, revisionism, and lies about his presidency . . . . Reagan tripled the national debt! Year after year his Voodoo Reaganomics continues to inflict so much damage to our country that we may never fully recover in our life time. Volumes have been spoken about this, yet it doesn't seem to sink in with the powers that be in DC and TV

www.thomhartmann.com...


The conservative Republican hero Ronald Wilson Reagan was one of the worst US presidents in history, because what he did in office to placate the super-rich directly has led to the economic destruction of the middle class. This, despite the accolades of the lying republicans and the MSM’s lack of reporting the truth behind the puppet for the Rich, Ronald Wilson Reagan. Reagan’s deregulation policies, for instance, have proven over the years to be deadly for the economic well-being of the American economy:

You can thank The Gipper for the birth of the current mortgage crisis. As William Kleinknecht, author of The Man Who Sold the World, put it, Reagan pushed for the elimination of all ceilings on interest rates and restrictions on loans, with his goal to "allow all depository institutions to make the same type of loans in whatever amount they see fit." The subsequent Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 enabled lenders to issue adjustable rate and interest-only mortgages, the drivers of the current mortgage meltdown.

www.huffingtonpost.com...



Overall his policies started the American economy on a steady spiral downhill and have not recovered since:

We have gone, when Reagan came into office we were the largest exporter of manufactured goods and the largest importer of raw materials on the planet. And the largest creditor. More people owed us money than anybody else in the world. Now just twenty eight years later we're the largest importer of finished goods, manufactured goods, exporter of raw materials which is kind of the definition of a third world nation and we're the most in debt of any country in the world. This is the absolute consequence of Reaganomics.

www.thomhartmann.com...


Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich were the main blow overall to the economic health of America. Indeed, as history records every time a major tax reduction for the rich occurred, usually under republican conservative policies, the economy nose-dived into recession or depression.

Then came Reaganomics. Taking his cues from the conservative billionaires who fund right-wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, Reagan cut top marginal tax rates on the rich from 74 percent to 38 percent. Predictably, there was an immediate surge in the markets—followed by the worst crash since the Great Depression and the failure of virtually the entire nation’s savings-and-loan banking system.

www.truth-out.org...


The theory behind this is simple. Despite the lies and distortions from conservative republican and tea party propaganda, when taxes go down for the rich they don’t invest in jobs they invest that extra money in speculative adventures that make them richer personally, that never includes jobs added to the economy. In-fact the lost revenue from the tax cuts ALWAYS depresses the economy!

As Beinhart noted, the massive Republican tax cuts of the 1920s (from 73 to 25 percent) led directly to the Roaring Twenties’ real estate and stock market bubbles, a temporary boom, and then the crash and Republican Great Depression that started in 1929. Then, from the 1930s to the 1980s, rates on the very rich went back up into the 70 to 90 percent range. As a result, the economy grew steadily, and for the first time in the history of our nation we went 50 years without a crash or major bank failure. It was also during this period that the American worker’s wages increased enough to produce the strongest middle class this nation has ever seen.

www.truth-out.org...


So on the 100th birthday of Ronald Wilson Reagan, please don’t believe the distorted hype coming from the MSM and the liars from the republican conservative demagogues; understand the reality of this destructive president whose only function as president was to make life better for the rich and super-rich at the expense of the ordinary hard working American middle-class.

republicans hate the middle class, what can you say? They fight tooth and nail to make the wealthy have more wealth at the expense of the middle class.. thats how it goes.. always

From the OP:

"Reagan tripled the national debt!

Just one point of contention right off the bat. Isn't the tripling of the national debt congress's fault?

Originally posted by Blueracer
From the OP:

"Reagan tripled the national debt!

Just one point of contention right off the bat. Isn't the tripling of the national debt congress's fault?

Yes they did vote for the budget but isn't it the president that sets the outline for the budget? There's a reason it's called Reaganomics. Also let's not forget he had the best way to deal with illegal immigration give them amnesty.

reply to post by inforeal


I fear that for many, Ronald Reagan will be comparable to Jesus Christ in a few short years.
Well, at least, he'll be another Joseph Smith.

reply to post by Blueracer


Reagan tripled the debt by his tax cuts for the rich which didn’t grow the economy despite the lies of the conservatives.

We should never elect a President rooted in Hollyweird, although DC is even weirder. Reagan was a bad President in just about every way, Iran Contra was far worse than Watergate. His economic policies tripled the national debt, and as usual, Congress was complicit. I voted for Ronnie Raygun in 1980 (a mistake), although I voted for Mondale in 84. Reagan never returned whole from his near death assassination, and was clearly suffering from dementia from that time on.

The op is wrong in that aspect, as there are many points that are flawed and biased. Be it that a presidency was successful or a failure, is often tainted by the views of history and what is popular at the time. The reality is, that sometimes we are all blind as to what is and is not a good thing, all based off of what is. One could say, that every president up until the end of segregation was a bad president for allowing such to continue for that long. FDR is a bad president for starting the entire illegal immigration. Harry Truman for dropping the Atomic Bomb. JFK for expansion and even willing to use military force to stop aggressive movements towards the USA. Even Jimmy Carter, for not taking actions and supporting the Shaw of Iran, when all of the signs pointed to him being a dictator, and failing to even do something about the hostages that were taken. Every single president of the United States all had their flaws and their good points and not one, be it Republican or Democrat has both good and bad president. So yes Regan may have given a tax breaks to the rich, yet no one ever stops to think, is it right to deny a person the fruits of their hard labor? Should we put penalties on those who succeed? All those who would turn around and complain that the wealthy do not pay their fair share, have really no clue as to what all the wealthy pay out. So Regan took the advice of rich, yet the difference is that the rich made their money and it is in their interest that they keep making money. Who better to help determine policy on what will keep or make an economy stronger than those who have to make those decisions every day? What is the wiser course of action, asking those who have never ran a business about what is needed, or those who do run businesses currently on what they need to help them out to employ more people and keep the economy going. Every time the debt goes up, the reality is that the nature of the economics all change for that country. This has been proven back during the time of the early 1700’s from the start of the United States, up to the current day, and each time, the economist try to predict what is good for the economy. Yet here is the question, why is it that 2 years after Carter was gone, and Regan was in office, the economy took a 180, and started to improve? Yet from the time Carter was in office, it tanked, 2 years after he was in? Reality happens to be that just maybe, Regan was not a bad president, as he did manage to achieve some pretty important goals, to include the Start Treaties, and actually managed to end more than 40 years of a cold war without firing one shot. Even though he made mistakes, he did a lot more to try to improve relations with the Iranians, than any since. According to some sources, under the Carter administration, that is when businesses started to decline, and started to be shipped overseas to different countries. There is one more thing, that can be stated, at least Ronald Regan did not imprison or arrest any who would protest or speak out against his policies or administration, like some democrats from the past, impeding on the freedom of speech.

reply to post by sdcigarpig


The facts are that policies under Reagan’s watch have proved to be fatal for the US economy.

Do your research and find that his huge tax cuts and conservative policies gutted the lower and middle class people.

For instance, people now are talking about the killer in Arizona should have gotten mental health care. Lo and Behold it turns out that Reagan was the president who cut millions from the budget that aided the mentally impaired.

Look at the facts and the policies and issues that impact on peoples lives.

I remember Ronald Reagan. I was in the service then. (yes, I'm that old) I remember having to fly in civillian clothes when carter was POTUS. When Reagan was POTUS I was allowed to fly in uniform.
I was given automatic first class seats.
I could NOT spend my own money in any bar I went to.
My mom and dad had banners in the airport waiting for me.

Everyone who saw me in uniform cheered, patted me on the back, thanked me for my service.

I was so damned proud to be an American soldier.

I am still that proud American soldier. I still get the treatment (now rather embarrassing) in airports. I still love my country, the Constitution that I vowed to protect.

If you wish to bash a great man, go ahead. It is still a free country. But know this.

I honor and respect and would have taken a bullet for him. Bash him all you want, tear him apart, but dammit, he'll always be a great hero to me.

Maj. Beezzer

reply to post by inforeal

Well lets take a look:
He cut from the budget, yet the question must be asked whose responsibility is it for the citizens of a country or even the state, is it the Federal governments responsibility for such or the state that the person resides in? But as you are talking about history, lets look at History: Woodrow Wilson, imprisoned and arrested people for speaking out against his policies on the War. FDR, who signed into budget many draconian policies that were enforced and forced many people who were in business out of business for failing to follow pricing options, all while listening to big business. The democrats ran the south and kept slavery in effect, and after the civil war, kept segregation going, to include the passage and enforcement of the Jim Crow Laws. Under the Carter Administration, it was the start of the decline of businesses in the US, from the crash during the 70’s, to many of the large businesses to moving overseas, thus leading to the decline of the economy. The Democratic party has no concern for the American people at all, nor have they really done anything. It is the congress that determines the budget and approves such, yet why is it that when the Democrats are in office and in the majority in congress, they don’t uphold on their promises to the public, beyond keep spending? It was their promise under Pelosi to cut the pork, and gee, they used the very money that was suppose to help people to keep up that spending. No, it is congress that is to blame, and in particular the democrats who are the worse of the bunch.

Sdcigarpig:

You are a libertarian conservative, fine, I could debate the folly of that philosophy in which I have done on numerous occasions and exposed the bankruptcy and illogical immorality of it, and its anti-human elements, but here we are precisely debating the sorry economic policies of Reagan.

And if you would be honest and look at economic statistics on his tax policies; trade policies; and regulatory policies, and how he TRIPLED the budget [the hypocrite] and began the economic destruction of the lower and middle class in America.

Beezer:

Look I have no problems with you loving Reagan; there are still Nazis that love Hitler.
But I would advise you to do some research and not merely rely on your adherence to conservative republican dogma

Originally posted by sdcigarpig Even Jimmy Carter, for not taking actions and supporting the Shaw of Iran, when all of the signs pointed to him being a dictator, and failing to even do something about the hostages that were taken.

Operation Eagle Claw. It failed, but you can't blame Carter for that. The hostages got home alive. I think that's all they cared about. Reagan sold the Iranians weapons as part of a deal to detain the hostages until after the presidential election. Funny how I never hear about that on talk radio.

Originally posted by sdcigarpig So yes Regan may have given a tax breaks to the rich, yet no one ever stops to think, is it right to deny a person the fruits of their hard labor?

I don't accept that premise. Most incredibly wealthy people don't work as hard as you think. I'm not talking about doctors or lawyers that earn high salaries. I'm talking about people that inherit vast fortunes, inherit millions of shares in corporations they put no effort into founding. There is a huge misconception about how the top .1 % acquired wealth. For every Bill Gates or Steve Jobs that created an empire from the ground floor, there are hundreds or thousands of "landed gentry", think Paris Hilton and her ilk.
That's as far as I got. Paragraphs please.

I remember being so brainwashed about Reagan as a kid. Even then, the media made him out to be a god.
As an adult, I've realized what a terrible president he was. Not just his policies, but his leadership was absent. He was a figurehead only. His cabal made the important decisions. Even Ron Paul figured out Reagan was a closet fascist and dropped his support like a hot potato.

Inforeal:
You need to stop blaming the republicans for all of the woes in the country, as they are not the only problem, and the democrats are just as guilty for such. If anything the conservatives all want to see fiscal responsibility, however, with anything it is a risk that has to be taken. To include, anything that you do, eat or say. It can not be the responsibility of the federal government to take care of anyone.
Schaden:
Here is the one thing that many, like you fail to understand, is that many who are rich invest heavily in business and industry. Many seem to think that it is unfair that a person inherits vast fortunes from their forefathers, yet for those that keep that fortune, have to keep investing it. So they get tax breaks, but what all are they advised to do with such? Reinvest it, many of the same loopholes that the rich have, are availed to everyone, so yes that means they get to give to charities, create endowments, and other things that benefit many in a community at all levels. Many non profit organizations, rely off of those contributions. As this is a country of equality, ask yourself this: Many of the charities and organizations, that everyone can enjoy, where did they get the vast majority of their funding? The reality is they get it from private donations, and yes as a reward, it is tax deductible, however, if you raise the tax rate on the rich, then there will be a decline in the economy of the country as the rich will pull their money back. The best example of such is New York, or any state that has a high tax rate on the rich, many of the businesses and people with money are moving out to go to other parts of the country that are more favorable to them.

Hmmmmm, another liberal bash Ronnie thread. Quick question, if President Reagan was soooooo, bad, why does Obama admire him sooo deeply? Kind of makes your boy look bad, doesn't it, or does the old liberal double standard apply?

Raygun was so stupid, he though ballistic missiles, once launched, could be recalled. The man was a mountain of ignorance. Now, Democrats and Republicans have worked hand in hand to destroy the middle class over the last thirty years. Klinton triangulated to where he was a Rethuglican. No difference, just different posturing.

reply to post by adifferentbreed


That Obama admires Reagan ought to tell you something about how bad of a president Reagan was.

Everything the op points out about Reagan is true, and that is just scratching the surface.

We are getting screwed by both parties, but the suckers who bought into the free market con continue to admire Reagan, despite his horrible record as a president, and the destruction that free market economics has done the U.S.. Reagan fooled you people into buying what is just another from of fascism.

Originally posted by poet1b
reply to post by adifferentbreed

 

That Obama admires Reagan ought to tell you something about how bad of a president Reagan was.

Ok. Don't really agree that Reagan was a bad president, but let's play with your logic just a little.

So, what's worse for the country, Reagan or a sad excuse for a Reagan wannabe (obowma)?

reply to post by centurion1211


Sadly, you really think there is a difference.

Both are sticking with the free market plan to destroy middle class America, and eliminate our liberties.

Originally posted by poet1b
reply to post by centurion1211

 

Sadly, you really think there is a difference.

Both are sticking with the free market plan to destroy middle class America, and eliminate our liberties.

I think joining the ever more popular "there is no difference" philosophy is the biggest "cop out" and sign of weakness I can imagine.

If there really is a NWO globalist movement, that is exactly what they would want their sheeple to do and become. They want you to join them because they've made you think you can't beat them.

Weak. Pitifully weak.



And "the free market plan to destroy middle class America"????

The "free market plan" built the middle class and the rest of America. Grab a history book and try using it for more than a paper weight.