REAGAN Inaugural Address 1981 ~!!~

[HLS]

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.

http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/first.asp

[Borat]

Too bad he wasn’t able to practice what he preached.

[Diego Mamani]

Komrade Borat: That graph is pretty useless. Using nominal dollars is the worst option. Better to use real (inflation-adjusted) dollars. Best option: measure debt as a percentage of GDP. This last measure shows that debt has been dropping (non lineraly!) since WWII when it peaked. See the blue line here:

http://www.cedarcomm.com/~stevelm1/debt_gdp.png

 

[Borat]

Agreed about the inflation-adjusted dollars but not about the % of GDP since GDP includes government spending. Debt % of GDP is a good measure for some purposes but not for illustrating government growth. A communist government might only have a 20% debt/GDP ratio but still have 100% of its GDP dependent on government spending. There’s a good graph of inflation-adjusted debt on this page, which still shows explosive growth starting in 1980 and having only a slight slowdown during the end of Clinton’s presidency before rocketing up again in 2000.

My only point is that Ronnie’s administration didn’t live up to that quote. They spent and spent and spent some more without worrying where the money came from…

[drunkle]

if debt is a factor of inflation, why would you use the outcome of debt in order to modify itself?

maybe if you were measuring debt to something else, say population and then factored in inflation… eg., debt/per person inflation adjusted. then, you could have a graph that showed no debt or something equally ridiculous. justifying debt and inflation by burying the relationship they have to each other…

[patientlywaiting]

Reagan was a feel good president of all talk and no action. He was the great communicator and inspired people but that’s about it.

Kinda like your dad saying “do as I say not like I do.”

[temeculaguy]

Until now I have avoided the political arguments because they have a only a slight influence on R/E and interest rates, with presidential politics having even less influence. I don’t know the age of the posters who are reagan bashing but if you weren’t at least driving a car during his first presidency or practicing nuclear attack drills in school, you are in no position to judge the man or the time he ran the country. I was there and he did all that you can ask and more than we usually get, he left it better than he found it. He won the cold war without a real war, the attitude and pride was entirely different and things were generally good under his watch. Another hundred years, he and Kennedy will be considered as the top leaders of that century. I won’t argue the details because it is as fruitful as arguing Jim Brown/Ladinan Tomlinson/Emmet Smith, they played in different eras, so you really can’t ever find the answer without a time machine.

Was Reagan the entire reason the country turned into the superpower it became, not entirely, but he helped. The 1980 Olympic Hockey Team is who I give much of the credit to, but i look at the world differently than most. What I don’t look at differently is what life was like from 80-88 and how I voted in 1984 (I am not a lock step republican or democrat, I am not religious, I actually voted for clinton and think he did a good job in many respects getting my vote for second place in my lifetime and I didn’t vote for our current president). In 1984 Reagan won every state but Minnesota and D.C., for those who lived then, it was a no brainer. Even Lewis Black, a somewhat liberal comedian, has said that we should dig up Reagan from his grave, stand him up at the podium and even saying nothing and dead he could probably do a better job than the current president and those we have to choose from to replace him.

I’m sure you can whine about some thing he did that was bad while sipping coffee in your favorite coffee house. Fine, have at it, but rest assured you won’t convince me. I was there and from Jimmy Carter to today, he’s still the best in my lifetime. Sometimes a feel good president is all you need when nobody feels good, the world punks you all the time, the economy is in the crapper, interest rates are 17% and you can’t get gas on even numbered days. Those are the cards he was dealt and the was a crappier hand than even the next guy will get, leave it better than you found it, that’s all I ask.

[Navydoc]

I must whole-heartedly agree with temeculaguy on this one. For those of you too young to remember the Carter administration, let me tell you, it did NOT feel good to be an American. Runaway inflation, job losses, the Iran hostage crisis, etc. Our national pride at an all-time low. Along came Reagan and everything changed overnight it seemed. You can say what you wish about the excesses of the eighties, and how many of the practices that got us into our current mess may have their origins in that decade, but Reagan was just what we needed at the time.

I heard a comment a few years ago that his face should be added to Mount Rushmore. While some may think this excessive, I think history is going to remember Reagan in a VERY favorable light. He certainly deserves it.

[patientlywaiting]

I was there too.

But I don’t need to feel good. I want to be told the truth. All Reagan did was paper over the mess by deficit spending and military spending. And he was a liar too (at least Carter was honest).

It’s like living on your credit cards for a few years. How many $30,000 limit cards do you have? Eventually the bills will come due. But in the mean time, you’ll feel good partying every weekend and your friends will think you’re such a great, generous guy. You old friends will be gone soon enough and unfortunately can’t tax your future friends to pay the bills. After Reagan and Bush 2nd, we’re now at bill paying time.

I think that Bush 1st was a great president. He made some hard choice that got us back on track. He was aloof but he’s a statesman. The Republican Congress caused Clinton to get in line and adopt pay-go.

Reagan was a little kooky and wasn’t always there.

The Soviet Union was bankrupt and would have fallen of its own weight (like housing today).

[jeeman]

“The Soviet Union was bankrupt and would have fallen of its own weight (like housing today).”

They WENT bankrupt trying to keep up in the arms race. Reagan knew this would occur, and that is why he escalated the arms race. Hot war was a nightmare that he never wished for. He wrote that he felt depressed after watching “The Day After” and had a renewed determination that nuclear war would never happen.

The deficit by the democrat congress during his time was 6% of the GDP. Nowhere near the 25% during FDR’s time. Sure, there were deficits, but the ending of the Cold War helped to pay for them.

Jeeman.

[Borat]

They WENT bankrupt trying to keep up in the arms race.

Ummmm I think the 10-year Afghan war had a little something to do with it too. I should know because I am from Kazakhstan. Jagshemash!

[jeeman]

“Ummmm I think the 10-year Afghan war had a little something to do with it too.”

And their economic philosophies, and corruption in the gov’t, etc, etc. It all played into it, I don’t doubt that.

Jeeman

[drunkle]

“And their economic philosophies, and corruption in the gov’t, etc, etc. It all played into it, I don’t doubt that.

Jeeman”

the us aint dead yet, no need to speak in the past tense. yet.

[jeeman]

Nice attempt in trying to twist my words. You know I was talking about the Soviet Union.

However, I’m about as pro-American as they come. I immigrated here a couple decades ago and love this country more than many Americans that I know.

Jeeman

[Anonymous]

Reagan is the most OVERRATED president in history. This thread is just further proof. History, media, etc. have chosen to cast an almost fully favorable light on him. But a lot of bad things happened during that time as well, most notably the outrageous debt due to overspending which was a failed experiment of “supply side economics” (since trumped by W.) and the Iran Contra Affair.

I’m not saying he is the worst President either. He was a pretty likable guy (I loved Bedtime for Bonzo) and I shared his love for Jelly Bellies.

Reagan’s almost totally positive legacy is just further proof that people have selective memory and are brainwashed by the media.

[Author]

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