Reply #7: Even David Stockman disowned Reagan's implementation [View All]

[0rganism]

Whether or not the theory itself was sound, it had three fundamental premises:
* tax cuts across the board
* restricted government spending
* coupling currency to a material standard

What happened was:
* tax cuts especially for the rich
* increased government spending
* continued monetaristic control of the cash supply

Reagan was able to reap incredible bennies from this in the short term, because his wealthy benefactors practically assured him good press. (It is in this era also that consolidation of media ownership begins in earnest.) Defecit spending on ridiculous military budgets, floating every pie-in-the-sky deal imaginable, fueled growth of an enormous national debt.

Now, instead of national prosperity, we're faced with a generation of abject poverty. Rather than shore up the tax base with a firm progressive foundation, and finance social security in perpetuity, the regime is paying off its rich contributors while encouraging them to invest in overseas labor markets.

Republicans have ruined the American economy, perhaps permanently.