It is not possible to look at Fox or the GOP candidates without them bringing up Ronald Reagan. Let me state that I voted for Reagan and I did NOT vote for Carter or Kennedy.
My objective is to look at WHAT has the Reagan Presidency meant to you and I today?
Reagan was a great communicator and presented a very positive image of America to the world. I believe that was his greatest attribute. However when I ask what of that remains today I have to say, regrettably, NOTHING. Events since Reagan and the manor of George W. Bush have created the exact opposite vision of America thought out the world.
Reagan is given credit for bringing down the Soviet Union. The truth is that Reagan was at the end of a chain that started long before he became president. I do believe he did increase the pressure by his spending on our military which forced the Soviet’s to spend more and moved up the date of their demise. How did the end to the cold war impact us today? The departure of the Soviet Union took pressure off some of the radical Moslem elements that the old Soviet Union kept in check with brute force. The net impact of the end to the Soviet Union probably made the current security problems worse and accelerated the empowerment of the international terrorism that confronts us today. It also lulled us into a false sense that we were safer and we allowed our guard to drop by under spending on our military and intelligence. History has also shown that some of the military spending Reagan directed was wasteful and ineffective. Restoration of the old battleships is one good example. Pushing Star Wars before technology was capable of producing such a system is another. It was easier to deal with the Soviets then to deal with the multiplicity of terror groups operating all over the world today. On balance the end to the old Soviet Union may not be as positive as some would like to believe.
During the first Reagan term we had some of the highest interest rate ever in our history. At the time these interest rates caused many Americans great difficulty. The only people that benefited were those that have money to invest at unprecedented rates. Again looking at the impact of the high interest rates in the early 1980. I see no adverse impact on our lives today.
There is only one legacy of Reagan that impacts our lives today. That is the consequence of his fiscal policy the supply side Voodoo Economics that has been called? Answer -Reaganomics. He used his communication skills to convince a Congress which was controlled by the democrats to buy into his policy of cutting taxes, especially for the wealthy, to stimulate the economy and balance the budget! Looking back at history that policy DID NOT produce what Reagan promised. In fact by the end of Reagan’s eight year term as President, we went from just under a Trillion Dollars in debt ($900 Billion) to $4 Trillion dollars which is an increase or just over $3 Trillion Dollars in eight years. That blunder has continued to impact us today. First because we are still paying the interest in the debt Reagan added. Second, GWB employed the very same policy using a Congress controlled by the GOP to replicate the very same mistake. Bush will have added $4 Trillion more dollars to the total national debt and like Reagan this will adversely impact our country for decades to come.
I liked Reagan when he was President but time has shown that his legacy is not one that has made America stronger or better! Until we repay the debt that both Reagan and Bush added to the National debt we will suffer from the fiscal policy of these two presidents!