Beginning the end of the middle class. Lowering Taxes on the rich. Deficit spending. Exporting jobs and importing chinese goods, Iran-Contra criminality. Changing the country from 1st world status to 3rd world status.
This in a nutshell.....
- Thread starter Mott the Hoople
- Start date
Beginning the end of the middle class. Lowering Taxes on the rich. Deficit spending. Exporting jobs and importing chinese goods, Iran-Contra criminality. Changing the country from 1st world status to 3rd world status.
What did Reagan do regarding the Cold War, other than be president when the USSR spent themselves into bankruptcy in Afganistan?
Id say Ike to Obama are what I would consider modern.
Bullshit. The financial sector got fucked when A students who routinely entered academia noticed that B students were getting wealthy on Wall Street.
When the really smart got really greedy, the house of cards crumbled. Simple, even for you, Simp.
tekkychick
New member
Given his avoidance of addressing the AIDS crisis -he couldn't even say it - his firing of air traffic controllers - his iran contra thing - he doesn't strike me as at all a good president.
Invading Grenada? really?
he wasn't awful, like Bush Jr. But not great.
cawacko
Well-known member
You're right. He did absolutely nothing.
Reagan actually inherited an economy that was not in recession. Volker (appointed by Carter) induced a recession to get inflation under control. At the same time the government increased spending substantially. Once inflation was under control (through the imposition of high intrerest rates), both fiscal and monetary policy were geared towards growing the economy with increased spending and looser money through decreasing interest rates. Reagan's main controbution was on the fiscal side, with increased spending (to levels not seen at the time since the end of WWII) and lowered taxes (that were raised later).
To compare Reagan's recovery to Obama's is to just basically misunderstand the nature of the two recessions and the policy responses implemented as a result. Regan had a FED induced recession that was alleviated once the FED got inflation under control and loosened up coupled with increased spending on the fiscal side. Obama had a deep, sustained recession coupled with a global financial crises, monetary policy constrined by the zero bound and fiscal policy that is cutting spending rather then increasing it. It ain't no wonder the recoveries are different.
Allowing corporations into government; fascism.
Pursuing users of a naturally occurring weed, not liberal.
Working towards corporate rather than human goals, not liberal.
Taking away civil rights, not liberal.
Cancel 2016.11
Darla
I find it hard to believe that Reagan has been consistently ranked in the top ten. I'm going to check that out.
Bill Clinton was a better president than Reagan.
Now if Bill Clinton had been able to pass ClintonCare, Id say he was the best president since FDR. Obama was able to do that and turn around the collapsed American economy in a short four years, so I have to say he was better than Clinton.
Now if Bill Clinton had been able to pass ClintonCare, Id say he was the best president since FDR. Obama was able to do that and turn around the collapsed American economy in a short four years, so I have to say he was better than Clinton.
Christy is the closest thing to Reagan the Conservatives currently have.
Cancel 2020.1
Canceled
I was just thinking who the best Presidents of the modern era are. They've all been pretty woeful in their own way, save for Clinton. Clinton was a genuinely good President.
The only real "critiques" that the opposing party can come up w/ in hindsight for him relate to his personal issues. Very few criticisms are based in policy - unlike Ford, Carter, Reagan, the Bush's & Obama.
Cancel 2016.2
The Almighty
Double digit inflation, high unemployment, low growth... stagnation. To say it is not the same is certainly true. They were different types of crisis. But to pretend that wasn't as bad shows your lack of understanding of the times.
We were not facing the edge of a cliff or full scale economic meltdown under President Carter. Our major banking and manufacturing institutions were not on the brink of bankruptcy. Bush's recession, in almost all aspects save only inflation, was MUCH worse.
You are simply being silly now...
Cancel 2016.2
The Almighty
While I believe Clinton is behind Ike and Reagan in terms of modern Presidents (using time frame Jarod mentioned), I do think there were policy issues that you can criticize.
1) $1.6 T added to the national debt (while same dollar amount, adjusted for inflation, not as bad as Reagan), but Clinton also had the benefit of peace time and an economic boom that began under Reagan.
2) Rwanda, failed foreign policy, we should always step in and stop genocide... credit to Clinton for learning... he did so in Bosnia later in his tenure
3) Health care... failed policy, again he learned from that fiasco.
4) War on drugs... number of federal prisoners doubled (almost 60% of which were drug related)
5) Cut NASA budget... given the bang for the buck we have seen from NASA, that was a bad call
6) Repeal of Glass Steagall... one of the primary drivers of the economic collapse of 2007-2009
7) Push for 'more home ownership than ever before' (both parties did this) which again was tied in with the financial crisis of 2007-2009
Cancel 2016.2
The Almighty
As I stated, you clearly have no recollection of what it was like in the late 70's/early 80's. As I said, it was a different kind of crisis... they are not the same... but to pretend one was not as hard as the other simply because that is what fits your narrative is what is actually silly.
Cancel 2016.2
The Almighty
Lets ignore every other President for a moment. On what grounds would you put Obama above Clinton?