Is Everything Reagan's Fault?
- Thread starter What Would Jesus Do?
- Start date
Not everything, but his was most definitely the wrong path. If his administration(s) didn't start the ball rolling with bad policy based on grievance, they certainly planted the seeds for generations of Americans to have an unhealthy mistrust in the government they are supposed to be active in as well as a full throated embrace of the me-first attitude so prevalent in the 80s and today.
They seem to have taken the very worst parts of libertarianism and the JBS to make an ugly conglomeration of elite worship and disdain for our neighbors. And all because he chose not to pay taxes while serving in the military as a song and dance man.
They seem to have taken the very worst parts of libertarianism and the JBS to make an ugly conglomeration of elite worship and disdain for our neighbors. And all because he chose not to pay taxes while serving in the military as a song and dance man.
Oh, I think you could make a pretty good case that most of our presidents over the last 50 years have contributed at least one "major" thing to our current status
I would suggest that the seeds of mistrust in government were planted well before Reagan,... Kennedy, Johnson, & Nixon administrations were all contributors...
Start with the Fairness Doctrine. Abandoning that led to a lot of today's issues.
The more I read, the answer is yes. Very corrupt manipulation of the American public.
The Fairness Doctrine and the TCA of 96. Letting tech corporations write tech laws is also very damaging.
There was a point where it became more of mantra for Republicans. My reading points to that becoming mantra under Reagan.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."
Why not just go back to 1778 to confirm your bias? Of course skepticism and mistrust in power existed before Reagan, that should go without saying.
Plus, I wasn't talking about the government doing wrong or being clandestine and then working for reform, I'm talking about Ronald Reagans explicit campaigning on the government being the cause and source of your problems and then using that same government to put a thumb on the working class.
I loved Reagan but I see the faults as anyone with a functional brain should be able to do.
The thing is, no one person or president makes the USA tick and he had a ton of help from congress and honestly the electorate. A LOT of people wanted to go the direction we did, he was just a great mouthpiece and orator to get there.
It is easy to armchair quarterback and see where things went wrong from decisions made 40 years ago. It's harder to go back in time and understand the time and place.
The issue is unregulated greed - "freedom" has its limits due to human nature being what it is, but no one likes to hear that.
Capitalism is the best "ism" there is, but shïtcanning a lot of the rules and regulations in the 80s led to where we are today.
The thing is, no one person or president makes the USA tick and he had a ton of help from congress and honestly the electorate. A LOT of people wanted to go the direction we did, he was just a great mouthpiece and orator to get there.
It is easy to armchair quarterback and see where things went wrong from decisions made 40 years ago. It's harder to go back in time and understand the time and place.
The issue is unregulated greed - "freedom" has its limits due to human nature being what it is, but no one likes to hear that.
Capitalism is the best "ism" there is, but shïtcanning a lot of the rules and regulations in the 80s led to where we are today.
It's only hard if a person is invested in making sure the people that went along with it don't get their feelings hurt.
It's not a weakess to admit mistakes or come to terms with being duped, which is probably why the ability is so rare.
I have posted before...watch on Netflix..."Vietnam:the turning point" ..the government has been lying to us since the 1960s, if not before.
seems as if a lot of you weren't really following politics back during the Reagan years. We have 3 branches of government...The Executive is only one..the House was solid Democrat during the House years and had been for almost 40 years straight...the Senate was Republican for 6 or 8 Reagan years. There was much more of a compromising government back then...Reagan always said that getting 80% of what he or democrats wanted was better than 0. The things accomplished during Reagan years were compromised..had to be. And if you want anecdotal thought, look at reagan's Star wars program...he couldn't get it though the Congress...
As opposed to what? The spirit world, Disney World, Cool World?
Don't pinch your finger in that gate.
Carter was awful. Reagan was able to get this country moving again and we all felt proud to be Americans again.
If a person couldn't be successful during the Reagan years, he or she wasn't trying.,
I owe Reagan. He helped me immensely.
I don't think so. Reagan has some faults, but I think the real issue that is destroying us today is the acrimony between the parties. They have diverged so much into their partisan extremes and believe in progress is only achieved by 100% adherence to doctrine combined with a literally permanent war on the presidency by the other party.
I think it began with Gingrich. Reagan, GHWB and even Clinton tried to work with the other party. Every president since has pulled further from compromise, Sleepy doesn't even try- its just open hostility and one party rule. Unlike Reaganomics trickle down prosperity, the hostility trickle down has been real and is fairly easy to identify.
I think it began with Gingrich. Reagan, GHWB and even Clinton tried to work with the other party. Every president since has pulled further from compromise, Sleepy doesn't even try- its just open hostility and one party rule. Unlike Reaganomics trickle down prosperity, the hostility trickle down has been real and is fairly easy to identify.
Don't let me interrupt this bothsides session but only one of these parties randomly tore down part of the Whitehouse, built a UFC ring on the grounds, and let a billionaire rummage around in our private data.
In retrospect, Reagan's biggest failure was not purging you dirty commies after he demolished the USSR.
Clinton too, with the repealing of Glass-Stigall, and that deregulation accelerated under W. Conservative policies ushered in the Great Depression and the Great Recession.
Trump isn't he cause, he is the result. His absurd actions as president are the current end result of a steep decline in US government. I can only hope that the next president breaks the long-term trend where every administration is worse than its predecessor.
You don't know the difference between the Great Depression ( 1929-1941 ) and the recession of 2008 that lasted all of 18 months. Don't you have some third world kick ball to watch today?
Yup Clinton's legacy is going to be nearly identical to Reagan. The ability to make people feel good and hopeful while in the dark of night taking an ax to the programs and protections that were built as a bulwark against the special interests that funded both.
Both were great politicians in that they could manipulate the public to go along with things that were not in their best interests. Both also seemed enamored with the trappings of power and attention in different ways.
F@ck em.
With all due respect, this is just lazy and wrong.
DJT is a two term POTUS, he has had an immense and widespread impact on the stability of our nation and the world.
It seems like it's you that's having difficulty, while being a d!ck. Interesting choice.
There were certainly things wrong before Reagan. But so much of what's wrong today started with Reagan.
I also blame a lot of what's wrong in America on the Rambo movies.
Yep, these are his fault and we should all be thankful.
Which, perhaps not coincidentally, caught on during the Reagan years.
Once you get people to believe that the government they elected to benefit US citizens is either a joke or a danger, the game is nearly won.
I am not debating the negative impact of Trump. I wholeheartedly agree, but he didn't start the decline -- which was the OP original thesis question. He has definitely sped up the decline.
I am hoping Trump is the nadir, not sure the country can handle further decline in leadership from unarguably still the world's leading power and economy. Trump has destroyed both US power and economy to the point the world is rapidly approaching multi-polar power centers which are inherently less stable.
Reagan had several huge accomplishments. 1. he indexed tax rates to inflation. without that everybody today making more than $30,000 would be paying something like 70% in taxes. 2. he deregulated the price of oil which has been extremely positive. 3. he built up defense spending which ultimately substantially contributed to the fall of the USSR. a lot to be proud of.
Also, he was mocked for Star wars defense project. but almost certainly was today's AI, it would be a workable method of defense. he was ahead of his time on this matter.
Also, he was mocked for Star wars defense project. but almost certainly was today's AI, it would be a workable method of defense. he was ahead of his time on this matter.