Reagan actually raised taxes. He gave the rich a cut early on, then more than made up for it by instituting a huge and regressive increase using the Republican bugaboo of Social Security. Oh, that’s right, according to the Republicans, those aren’t “taxes”.

Reagan, through lack of planning and policy (dangerously socialist activities, those) presided over the end of Industry and the “financialization” of the US economy (why actually make anything when, because we’re sitting on this huge pile of dough, we can yank everybody around, just like on Dallas or Dynasty!).

According to Kevin Phillips, that marks the beginning of the end of the American economic empire (Wealth and Democracy). When economic advantage begins to erode (as say, when China has to prop up your economy), those in denial predictably resort to military misadventures.

Clinton’s fostering of hi-tech was a failed but intelligent attempt to stave off the collapse.

I remember what it was like to be an American in 1959 and ‘60, 1969 and ‘70, and 1979 and ‘80. Of those three, the last was least alarming, by far. Easily. No contest. The Carter years were downright placid compared to the 1950s and 1960s.

My memory doesn’t quite go back to 1949 and ‘50, although I do remember watching Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show. But I’ve read about it; nasty times. Korea and spy scandals and all that.

I turned 19 that year.

And you’ve had a privileged and sheltered life, I see.

As I sit at my oak desk, at my corporate office, surrounded by the business that I built with my own hands, determination, will power and intellect

In my experience what it takes to succeed in business is self-confidence and an aggressive personality. Smarts, not so much. I’ve known a lot of really stupid but successful executives.

maybe when you grow up and become a conservative we can have drinks and a good chat!!!

They’ll have carted me off to the old folks’ home before you grow up, but you can visit if you bring some hooch.

I’m not a troll and very seldom post anywhere and at the moment can’t recall what link brought me here, well actually to your old site. It might have been the forged (fact) Bush documents from the ‘04 election. I happen to be one of those that likes to delve into the murky waters of liberal defeatism, I mean how “you folks” think just to help gain perspective.

Perspective…

Do you remember what it was like to be an American in 1979 and ‘80? To feel helpless while an incompetant wrung his hands in the oval office while 66 Americans were held hostage in front of the world and the most powerful nation in history was humiliated and shamed? I do. I turned 19 that year. Gas lines and humiliation, is it any wonder that Reagan got 489 electoral votes? Can you guess who I voted for in my first presidential election?

What was instilled in me then has stayed with me and I will agree with you on at least one point. As I sit at my oak desk, at my corporate office, surrounded by the business that I built with my own hands, determination, will power and intellect…….. I have no inclination nor desire to stoop to your level and debate you on your terms.

But hey you seem pretty smart maybe when you grow up and become a conservative we can have drinks and a good chat!!!

Yes, just as Bush’s tax cuts are irresponsible. They aren’t really tax cuts; they’re tax deferments. All debts have to be paid eventually.

The conservative fallacy is that you can get everything you want and not have to pay for it. Sorry; the real world doesn’t work that way.

Universal healthcare? a fallacy, look north for the reality of it.

Gawd, you people are predictable. I’ve blogged about you righties and the Canada bugaboo many times before, like here and here

Along with proving that none of you thinks for himself, the Canada bugaboo ignores the fact that the U.S. is the only industrialized democracy left in the world with no provision for universal healthcare.

Click on the second “here” above to find out who knows how to do health care right. (Hint: Neither Canada nor Britain.) Also see this report to learn why the U.S. does not have the best health care system in the world; just the most expensive.

Cheap meds? Can we talk about intellectual property being stolen and then being profited from by foreign governments?

Don’t worry your head about that, son. Thanks to the Republican War on Science the good researchers are all going elsewhere. We’ll be stealing their patents one of these days.

if that’s the best you can muster, knock yourself out.

I’m not actually debating you, dear. I’m just playing with you. You aren’t capable of serious debate at my level.

And although I find you mildly amusing, I have other ways to waste time. So — goodbye.

As far as the point about “responsible” tax increases, yes there were tax increases. Were they responsible? Do you know what they were to define them as responsible? I know for me, my taxes went up, and I am and was by no means rich, wealthy or even close to middle class at the time. I do know I had less to support my family with though, my solution was to get a better job. To increase my skill set and my value in the market place. Something that IS available to everyone in America.

BTW I’ve been to Europe, sure there are some nice places to visit but there really is no place like America. Universal healthcare? a fallacy, look north for the reality of it. Waiting lines, poor quality, lack of doctors. Cheap meds? Can we talk about intellectual property being stolen and then being profited from by foreign governments? Yes clearly we as Americans subsidize the universal healthcare to the north.

OK maha go ahead pick and choose what words you want to pick apart, make sure you define the context and not what I actually wrote. It’s a lazy way to do it, in my humble opinion, but if that’s the best you can muster, knock yourself out.

Responsible tax increases made a big difference, too. BTW, how is it that Republicans don’t do sound fiscal policy any more?

And NO it certainly wasn’t Carter’s policies that gave us the growth in the 80’s, that was tax cut’s and military spending!

But you said it took ten years or so for fiscal policies to have an effect. I guess you lied the first time, huh?

And NO it certainly wasn’t Carter’s policies that gave us the growth in the 80’s, that was tax cut’s and military spending!

For more plausible reasons wages aren’t keeping up with productivity, see this article via Brad DeLong.

I’m aggravated that BOP News remains offline (Stirling Newberry told me they were having technical problems) because several of the guys there have done some great blogging on this topic.

There’s no poverty in Europe like there is in the US? Good grief! Have you ever actually travelled around Europe? Gone into the slums?

I think the point that you can’t always judge quality of life by outward appearances is valid. For example, our abysmal infant mortality rates (particularly for the poor and black) compared to the poor of Europe is a strong indicator that our poor are worse off than their poor in at least some respects.

Anyway, Maha asks me for my reaction to the news that wages have not kept up with productivity growth in the US in recent years. Fortunately, here’s something I prepared earlier:
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=071306A
Precisely because productivity has been rising as fast or faster than GDP.

Oh, we understand it fine. We just don’t believe it.

To infer that we are as Americans living a substandard lifestyle

That is not what I wrote. I’m talking about the standard of living of working-class Americans, people who make median or below income, compared to people working the same jobs in other industrialized nations. And I said in comparison Americans probably were fairly average. Not substandard; average.

If you are upper middle class or above in America, you probably live much better than most of your counterparts abroad.

Conclusion: Supply siders can’t read.

Let’s be clear, the boom from the 90’s had nothing to do with Billy Boy. Economic policies take a decade to flow through the system,

That means Jimmy Carter should get credit for the Reagan “boom”! Who’d a thunk it?

yes you can create stimulis like a tax cut that can can have a quick effect, 1-3 years. But real policies work over a longer period of time. In this decade we are reaping the benefit of the economic policies of the 90’s, just like the 90’s rode the coat tail’s of Ronald Reagans policies in the 80’s. As a suggestion try reading a paper like Invester’s Business Daily

Holy shit; Investor’s Business Daily is the most imbecilic piece of crap on the planet. I’ve seen it; it’s jaw dropping. Absolute trash. You’d get better advice from supermarket tabloids with space aliens on the cover.

However, consider your substandard reading comprehension skills, I’m not surprised you read IBD.

In fact, the boom of the late ’90s was in large part due to Clinton’s budget deficit reduction. The dot com boom also contributed.

use the editorialized slanted perspective of the Times for the bottom of your bird cage where it belongs.

The article linked at the top of the post is from the Christian Science Monitor.