Reaganomics, how well did it work?

[Machismo]

Reagan was the least fiscally responsible President this country has ever had. His policies were not very well done, and he exploded the debt. His government spending was atrocious. Conservatives/libertarians who point to him as their model for fiscal policy are neither conservative, nor are they libertarian.

[isuridedes]

How did Reagan's decisions lead to said deaths?

Let's talk military

(1) During Reagan's administration the United States sold weapons to Iraq, despite evidence at the time that Saddam Hussein was using chemical warfare in violation of international law. Reagan's administration continued to ignore these atrocities and instead opted to provide Iraq with military intelligence that allowed Saddam to better-target his opponents with the aforementioned weapons.

The actions of Reagan's administration helps facilitate what would later become a prolonged military incursion into Iraq that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of American troops.

(2) He did the same thing with Iran, despite having signed into law legislation to make this act illegal.

(3) He did this to Nicaragua too, because you know if you're going to violate your own law twice what's a third time! BONUS: He did this to overthrow a Democratically-elected government.

(4) He armed Mujahideen rebels. You know who one such rebel was? Osama bin Laden. That's right, Big Daddy Reagan helped form Al Quaeda.

Let's talk human rights

(1) His Administration supported Apartheid.

(2) He ignored the looming AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Literally refused to say 'AIDS' or do anything to assist with an emerging crisis. His Administration sat on its hands and allowed tens of thousands of Americans to die. It took that asshole of a human being SIX YEARS before he would discuss HIV/AIDS as an actual crisis. When AIDS fatalities reached such a height that they were doubling each year this waste of human flesh actually wanted to CUT AIDS research.

Let's talk economy

(1) His economic policies took America from a 7% unemployment level to 10.8%. We're currently sitting in the 4% range and it's considered 'unacceptable' by many. During his time in office he put millions out of work and caused American citizens over $150 billion due to the collapse of over 700 financial institutions.

(2) He stole from Social Security to bridge the gap. Like his predecessor Bush did with Iraq. And like Bush this was never paid back, which is why Social Security keeps getting put on the chopping block. It's supposed to be entirely self-sufficient through payroll taxes; except for all the money various presents stole.

... again - all of this is available online. You can see this on Wikipedia, you can read this on long, well-structure essays on the reign of Reagan. Excerpts from forum posts aren't going to give you a full picture of just how awful of a President Ronald Reagan was.

......

BONUS ROUND

One of the things Reagan was regularly criticized for: repeating false claims despite those claims being publicly denounced by others and/or fact-checked to show they are objectively false claims. Remind you of anyone?

[paralleluniverse]

The other day I was having a conversation with my father, who is a moderately conservative libertarian. He told me about the economic improvement of the USA due to the implemented policies of the Reagan period, closely related to trickle down economics. I had a mind that Carter had also a hand in that, and that giving full credit to Reagan's policies was like telling the incomplete story. Then again, I'm no expert on the matter so I spoke little on the subject.

Could anyone here care to tell me more about how Reagan's policies worked out for America?

It worked out for the rich and everyone else got screwed.

[Allybeboba]

It worked out for the rich and everyone else got screwed.

That is quite an interesting graph.

[Lenonis]

If anyone (somehow) still has a question about if supply side or trickle down economics works...here's all you need to know.

Taxes on the rich are or close to the lowest they have been in decades.
Corporate profits are at record levels.
The wealth of the top % of Americans are at record levels.

If trickle down/supply side economics were a thing we would have seen exploding economic growth in the last decade. We have not.

That's all the data you need to debunk this magical thinking that somehow people still seem to have. That, gosh darnest, the rich just aren't quite rich enough to share with the rest of us. It's stupid and it's toxic to the economy.

[pathora44]

Trickle Down Economy has never worked and it will never work. It is the delusions of gullible idiots and the con of Corporate Overlords that giving all the money to the corporations will mean more wealth for everyone. Corporations and their executives are having record profits and they are not putting back into their corporations to help fund jobs or give higher wages to their lower level workers. What they are doing is filling their pockets to the brim and buying all their stocks or investing in other stocks to make more money. Trickle Down Economy has helped create Third World level pay wage gaps. For decades the rich have gotten richer and richer and the poor have gotten poorer and poorer and this gap is only getting wider and wider with the middle class being pushed quickly to the poor side of this gap.

[alexw]

The other day I was having a conversation with my father, who is a moderately conservative libertarian. He told me about the economic improvement of the USA due to the implemented policies of the Reagan period, closely related to trickle down economics. I had a mind that Carter had also a hand in that, and that giving full credit to Reagan's policies was like telling the incomplete story. Then again, I'm no expert on the matter so I spoke little on the subject.

Could anyone here care to tell me more about how Reagan's policies worked out for America?

It didn't. The economy improved over the early eighties but that wasn't due to to Reaganite policies. What happened was that during the 70's there was an oil price spike (an absolutely gigantic huge one prices rose seven-fold) which crippled the economy, and Reagan took over just as the price started to fall back down. Thus he ended up taking credit for something that had absolutely nothing to do with him, and so the adulation and worship of Reagan by the political right began. They had him as their "proof" that asset stripping the middle class and transferring untold wealth to the very richest while everyone else stagnated, somehow magically made everyone better off.



I suggest you show this image to your father. To explain the realities of the Reagan "miracle".

- - - Updated - - -

And how exactly did the divide from reality appear where Reagan saved the US economy, created jobs and strengthened the middle class? Who created the notion?

Just good luck on Reagan's part. He took credit for something which had absolutely nothing to do with him - the fall in the price of oil which underpins the price of everything.

[Z-Man]

Well enough that Reagan himself had to raise taxes to prevent the budget from cratering. Reaganomics was over and done with before he left office.

[Noradin]

Literally ever precept of what Trickle-Down Economics was supposed to do failed. It has failed every time, and the current GOP proposal will be no different.

Oh no, trickle down economics work perfectly in the short term--for the rich who want to become richer that is.
(Implemented long term it's good for nobody.)

[Somewhatconcerned]

Trickle down is antithetical to capitalism at its core. You can guess which one wins out in the end.