Generalizing of course, but Reagan began and instituted the practices of: 1) bringing christianity into regularly political discourse. Of course, christianity has always been linked to US politics, but mostly in symbolic terms. He was the first to make it more intimate, and morally superior to other perspectives, including science. As a nod to the christian right, he would always end his speeches with âGod bless you.â (or similar references to god), legitimizing christianity from the highest office in the US. Here is where the link between the ruling party and the solidifying of the christian coalition began as a political force. 2) deliberately naming bills (acts), projects or systems in a deceptive way. For example, he named a ridiculously wasteful missile system âThe Peacekeeperâ. âStar Warsâ missile defense systems, as if it was some kind of game or movie. âEconomic Recovery Actâ, leading to a staggering national debt. Today we have the âclean skies initiativeâ, âno child left behindâ etc, that actually have results opposite their title. Most americans hear these deceptive names and immediately approve of them. I mean, who could oppose the âChild Safety Actâ? This practice was a clever way to get people to vote against their own interests. 3) immense deficit spending. Republicans realized back then that they could steal money even faster when they borrowed it from the future. 4) appointing incompetent, corrupt and malevolent cronies into powerful senior positions. Example: James Watt for Sec. of Interior, who decimated environmental protections. Edwin Meese as Attorney General. William Casey as CIA director. There were many others too numerous to name. 5) emphasizing partisan politics over rational discussion of important national policies. Again, this was a clever way to distract people from the substantive issues of national policies. 6) launching the insane âwar on drugsâ, and making the US the leader in the world in per capita incarceration, literally, a prison nation. 7) legitimizing âtrickle downâ tax and financial policies, where the increasingly super wealthy were supposed to throw crumbs to working poor. There is a huge amount of documentation on these issues on the net. ...and... Yes! Reagen spent his political capitol from reinvigorating nationalism into tax cuts for the wealthy and breaking the unions. Since Reagen, Real wages have diclined, The gap between rich and poor has grown much wider and ethics in the Corporate world hit new lows. Recall the Merger Mania where corporations were worth what could be raided from their Pension funds! Donât Forget the S&L crisis led by Neal Bush, cost The coutry $Trillions and Now GW has a unecessary war that is running in the $Trillions. Especially after you count the lost productivity by the people fighting instead of doing business. The select few run up the debt and get wealthy, then expect the little man to pay off their debt! People whine about welfare, but Corporate Welfare costs twice what the individuals recieve. I know I feel sorry for Exxonâs record profits and they NEED a tax cut. Come on people! http://newconstructionjobs.com/did-...ow-decline-both-economic-and-politically/137/
Unregulated capitalism is not the cause of huge gubbermint deficits, unregulated govt spending is the cause of that. How hard a concept is that to understand?
Any way you spin it, Reagan was the mother of huge gubbermint (sp) deficits... Real income for the working man has gone down since the day Reagan took office...and deficits, including budget and trade deficits, have ballooned since the day Reagan took office... How hard a concept is that to understand? Reagan and his followers, are scum... By the way, unregulated capitalism has shown its ugly face to America by increasing government spending and reducing taxes, causing increased deficits... Reagan and his follower, are unpatriotic...
That's a mighty big word for somebody like you, maybe you should give me your definition before you spew nonsense all over the place like a popped balloon.