Longing for Ronald Reagan. Yes, I Will Remember

I ran across a comment a reader stated in the Atlanta Journal Constitution concerning former president Ronald Reagan in which his response was to an opinion piece concerning the GOP learning from The Gipper. As I read this person's comments - which awakened my senses that some people never remember history let alone what they ate for breakfast - it dawned on me that very few people recognize Ronald Reagan's "real" accomplishments compared to the stealth president we have today.

Ronald Reagan did more for America than most presidents and yet, never received the Nobel Peace prize - unlike another president who is still basking in the sun as if the campaigning is still running in fifth gear - but that is another story.

The reader complained about the successful solutions that got us out of the Carter disastrous inflationary economy - although I already stated about remembering history but the Carter disaster is one everyone can forget, permanently.

The reader spells out Reagan's accomplishments as doubling the national debt, irresponsible tax cuts, favoring the rich, giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, and runaway defense spending.

Let's begin with the easiest complaint - amnesty to illegal aliens. Sure, I'll give you that but at the same time, the Democrats were running Congress; always a little morsel left out when one tries to character assassinate.

Then the reader goes to complain about Reagan's "runaway" defense spending. If my memory serves me well, didn't we win against the U.S.S.R. "because" of those defense dollars? Compare that to the Obama administration that has spent over a trillion dollars chasing the next Noble whatever prize. I'll take Reagan's defense spending that kept us safe all those years compared to Obama's appeasement to the enemies of America - I feel safe already.

If that wasn't enough, the reader mentions irresponsible tax cuts and of course, those evil-rich people - those same rich people that force liberals to get out of bed in the morning to go to work; no wonder why they complain.

The Reagan tax cuts produced results in that the net effect of the top 1 percent of the population actually induced those taxpayers to lessen their willingness to rely on tax shelters and exposed more of their income to taxation which increased federal revenue. The lower tax rates, the middle class mind you, allowed consumers to increase their income which generated more taxes.

During the 1990s, the good ole' Clinton years, his tax increase had an opposite affect which reduced taxable income and although today's liberals and democrats complained that Reagan's tax cuts expanded the federal deficit, that is entirely un-true. In 1993, the top income earners taxable income actually dropped and did not rise.

Therefore, complain about Reagan's tax cuts but in the end, it increased the amount of taxes owed by those evil-rich people and increased consumer spending which increased taxable income - as an added note; the individual income tax revenues increased from $244 billion to $446 billion in 1989. To add to the history lesson, such Reagan type tax cuts worked in the 1920s and the 1960s in increasing tax revenue.

To be fair and balanced, Reagan, like all presidents had their faults. The Reagan nomination of Sarah O'Connor to the US Supreme Court was a disaster in itself but I think he can be forgiven for that blunder as that mistake finally retired a few years ago. Mistakes do correct themselves, eventually. However, Reagan did more positive for this nation than most presidents outside of the World Wars. The Reagan type leader is what we need now.

One of Reagan's quotes ring true today - "Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a chosen few; it is the universal right of all God's children." We do not face large deficits because American families are under taxed; we face those deficits because the federal government overspends."

Naturally, I don't expect any liberals to understand one iota of any of this, does anyone expect them too?

If one wants to complain about Reagan, all one has to do is look at what Democrats do and Obama is a prime example. Obama and cohorts just broke an American record with a $1.73 trillion deficit in less than a year. His so-called $787 billion stimulus package has yet to produce anything worth jumping for joy about. Oh wait; it produced or saved 23000 jobs in Georgia while GM is laying off 23000 by the end of 2011.

I guess one can assume that is an Obama accomplishment; a liberal Peace Prize, but then a man in August 2008 announced his accomplishment of consuming 23000 Big Macs over a 36 year period too.

Ronald Reagan, I will remember.

http://www.house.gov/jec/fiscal/tx-grwth/reagtxct/reagtxct.htm