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Reagan was consistently for shrinking government spending. Congress holds the power of the purse, not the presidency, so he was not empowered to do as he wished there but it's very obvious what his preference was. That's one of the biggest takeaways from the Grace Commission, like 80% of what they found required Congress (controlled by Democrats) to work with him. They did not, because the Dems are for big govt.
That is not the case now, we can not pretend the GOP is still a small government less spending advocate given both Trump's constant grandiose claims to increase spending, and the fact that there is actually a trifecta without any action to decrease the deficit. Reagan didn't have the power but he tried. Trump has the power and keeps pushing for more spending.
The debt and deficit exploded under Reagan. In the words of the immortal Dick Cheney: "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter".
His biggest legacy is a giant increase in military spending to force the Soviets to respond, thereby collapsing their empire. And good on him for it. No doubt he'd also be in favor of the current Iran conflict, which we are doing on a shoestring budget in comparison.
But of course it's very easy to be in favor of dead conservatives who you assign any beliefs you like to. No doubt there were "conservatives" in the 1980s who claimed to have voted for Eisenhower, but now encouraged people to vote for Mondale because Reagan was "too radical".
That policy was actually started by noted arch-reactionary … Jimmy Carter. This was in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. If you look at Raegan only policies, and not ones he inherited and expanded, he’s even more fiscally irresponsible.
Yes, and Reagan benefited in a big way from taking over at the right time.
Volcker collapsed the economy by raising interest rates in 1979. This worked as intended, driving inflation from 15% down to just 3% four years later. But of course it weakened the economy too. Just in time for the 1980 Presidential election, which Reagan won easily.
The economy continued to suck until 1982. But Volcker's bitter medicine cured the patient, and by the 1984 election, the US economy was experiencing terrific growth with low inflation. Reagan wiped the floor with Mondale, taking a record 49 states.
Boomer conservatives want Trump to be like Reagan. But they can't recreate the magical conditions that allowed him to thrive. Both parties today want the other party to take the bitter medicine.
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