A Factual Account of Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was a transformative figure in American history, but his real revolution was one of public-relations-meets-politics and not one of policy. His 1981 tax cut was followed quickly by tax hikes that you rarely hear about, and Reagan's real lasting achievement on that front was slashing marginal rates for the wealthy - even as rising payroll taxes socked the working class. While Reagan talked about cutting government, in fact Reagan expanded the federal payroll and created a huge debt. Where he shrunk government was in regulation and oversight which ledto the savings and loan crisis in the late 80's and to the subprime mortgage crisis of the late 2000's.

Foreign policy is another area where what actually happened differs from what the neo-con myth machine will have one think. Reagan's credit for ending the Cold War is off based in that Reagan was not the sole reason. As with his acting career, Reagan was a B-movie participant in that. Then the Iran-Contra scandal is a situation that Reagan escaped blame leading to the term " the Teflon President"

My next post will focus primarily on the economics of the Reagan years. You may ask why discuss the Reagan years now? The reason is because the entire neo-con position is based on a re-creation of the Reagan years which is more fiction than facts and will help us understand why the Grand Obstructionist Party has taken the position that it has with our current economic situation. It also gives the clear example of why trickle down economics is a failure.