I realize Reagan is a hero for most republicans, face it who else is there? Lincoln? But we have to be honest and for those of us who lived through Reagan, and saw the impact of his policies, it just wasn't good. Firing the air traffic controllers started business on the path to 'screw the employee only money matters' philosophy. Lowering taxes made us a debtor nation, and created the economic condition that caused Bush Sr to lose after one term. The changes in employee rights and deregulation lead us to today's mess. There is no way Reagan can be considered anything more than a actor who became president but continued to believe in make believe. Ironically those who praise him today suffer the same make believe.
CEPR - America Since 1980: A Right Turn Leading to a Dead End
Amazon.com: The United States since 1980 (The World Since 1980): Dean Baker: Books
""Reagan was coming from this very simple proposition: If you lower the tax rate, then more people will work, there will be more income in the economy and everyone's lives would be better. Despite a 25 percent income tax cut, by 1982 Reagan faced a deepening recession, mounting unemployment and homelessness.""
Ken Duberstein, Reagan Chief of Staff
I didn't agree with a lot of Reagan's policies, but I thought he was a good president, at least first term. He brought a cheery optimism and can-do spirit to an American that was in a mailaise from post Vietnam and economic problems including inflation. I agreed with him that the tax code in those days was ridiculous and needed simplification, which was accomplished in 1986.
Reagan's stregnth, lost on many conservatives, was that while he had certain beliefs, he was not an ideolouge. He believed tax cuts would spur the economy, but when revenues fell percipitously he raised taxes in a number of ways. He called the Soviet Union the "evil empire", but that didn't stop him from meeting their leader, shaking his hand, and working to improve relations between the countries. He had a numbe of faults, everyone does, but all in all he was a pretty good prez, IMO.