edthecynic
Censored for Cynicism
- Oct 20, 2008
- 43,044
- 6,883
- 1,830
The only thing more stupid than believing anything from the radical Heritage Foundation, is believing anything from the Russian Foreign Minister! Of course he is going to say St Ronnie's deficit spending was good because he wants it to continue to the destruction of the US.What exactly did the GOP do to get us in this mess?
put your reasons on the table
you think the deficit prior to 2008 was a problem?
You think we can fight 2 wars without having debt?
What exactly is it that the failed stimulus as well as HO use of tarp with his health care reform bill that we cannot pay for don't you get?
All I ask of all Liberals is examples
accurate and supported with links
like this one
Defending the Reagan Deficits | The Heritage Foundation
This is a Commentary On
Federal Budget Defending the Reagan DeficitsPublished on June 16, 2004 by Brian Riedl Print
Share
More
Critics of President Reagan's budget deficits should answer one simple question: Would you trade the collapse of communism, your smaller tax burden, some of your income -- and possibly your job -- in exchange for eliminating that $2.1 trillion in added debt?
Coverage of President Reagan's legacy has been generally fair, with one exception. Many say, "Reagan masterfully won the cold war but those budget deficits." Or "America needed Reagan's infectious optimism but those budget deficits."
Not all debt is bad. Mortgage debt and student loan debt are worthy investments. No one criticizes President Franklin Roosevelt for the massive debt that financed World War II. Yet the commentators criticizing President Reagan for the $2.1 trillion in added debt (all numbers are in today's dollars) ignore how that debt won the Cold War, lowered the tax burden, and ignited the largest economic boom in American history.
Those who denounce the Reagan deficits should answer the following questions:
Would you bring back the Soviet empire? President Reagan spent $3 trillion on defense, well above the $2.2 trillion baseline. What did that extra $800 billion buy? The end of the Cold War -- saving, perhaps, a billion lives from nuclear extinction.
No less than former Soviet Union Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh has been quoted crediting President Reagan's defense buildup for the accelerated collapse of the Soviet Union. The fragile communist economy, already stretched thin by substantial defense spending, could not keep up with America's defense buildup. The possibility of American missile defense, and President Reagan's powerful rhetoric, further persuaded the Soviets they could not win the Cold War, and induced the reforms that culminated in the collapse of the Soviet empire -- without America firing a single shot. It was the best $800 billion investment America ever made.
Would you raise the top income-tax rate back to 70 percent? Commentators also blame the 1980s deficits on President Reagan's insistence on reducing taxes in 1981. Yet President Reagan inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression. Excessively high tax rates were discouraging work and investment and therefore damaging the economy while raising little revenue. President Reagan removed barriers to entrepreneurship by reducing tax rates, cutting red tape, and stabilizing the economy, thereby encouraging risk takers. The centerpiece of this policy was a radical series of across-the-board tax cuts that lowered the top income tax rate from 70 percent to 50 percent, and eventually to 28 percent. (It stands at 35 percent today.)
Reagan's deficit spending had nothing to do with the USSR, it was all about destroying this country!
July 6, 2010
RUSH: It is said of Reagan -- I think it's true to a certain extent -- Reagan decided to starve the welfare state by creating deficits and spending