If you can't [deficit] spend your way to prosperity

how, exactly, do the rightwingers think Reagan made us prosperous?

or are they no longer saying his policies were a good thing?

or does he get no credit because Congress writes the budget?

They change their tune too much; I can't keep track of it

 

Reagan lowered taxes....and got a lot of government off our backs....which grew the economy.....same thing rightwingers want today....

Reagan's mostly dimwit congress overspent...same thing Obama and his dimwit congress is doing today....

 

5. Average Annual Spending Increases (excluding interest)
a. JFK 4.6%
b. LBJ 5.7%
c. Nixon 2.9%
d. Ford 2.7%
e. Carter 3.2%
f. Reagan 1.9%
g. BushI 2.0%
h. Clinton 1.9%
i. BushII 5.6%
Historical Tables | The White House

 

U.S. president Party Term years Start debt/GDP End debt/GDP Increase debt ($T) Increase debt/GDP
(in percentage points) House Control
(with # if
split during term) Senate Control
(with # if
split during term) Roosevelt/Truman D 1945–1949 117.5% 93.1% 0.05 -24.4% 79th D, 80th R 79th D, 80th R Truman Harry Truman D 1949–1953 93.1% 71.4% 0.01 -21.7% D D Eisenhower1 Dwight Eisenhower R 1953–1957 71.4% 60.4% 0.01 -11.0% 83rd R, 84th D 83rd R, 84th D Eisenhower2 Dwight Eisenhower R 1957–1961 60.4% 55.2% 0.02 -5.2% D D Kennedy/Johnson D 1961–1965 55.2% 46.9% 0.03 -8.3% D D Johnson Lyndon Johnson D 1965–1969 46.9% 38.6% 0.05 -8.3% D D Nixon1 Richard Nixon R 1969–1973 38.6% 35.6% 0.07 -3.0% D D Nixon2 Nixon/Ford R 1973–1977 35.6% 35.8% 0.19 +0.2% D D Carter Jimmy Carter D 1977–1981 35.8% 32.5% 0.28 -3.3% D D Reagan1 Ronald Reagan R 1981–1985 32.5% 43.8% 0.66 +11.3% D R Reagan2 Ronald Reagan R 1985–1989 43.8% 53.1% 1.04 +9.3% D 99th R, 100th D Bush GHW George H. W. Bush R 1989–1993 51.1% 66.1% 1.40 +15.0% D D Clinton1 Bill Clinton D 1993–1997 66.1% 65.4% 1.18 -0.7% 103rd D, 104th R 103rd D, 104th R Clinton2 Bill Clinton D 1997–2001 65.4% 56.4% 0.45 -9.0% R R Bush GW1 George W. Bush R 2001–2005 56.4% 63.5% 1.73 +7.1% R 107th Split, 108 R Bush GW2 George W. Bush R 2005–2009 63.4% 83.4% 2.63 +20.0% 109th R, 110th D 109th R, 110th D Obama1 Barack Obama
D 2009– 83.4%


111th D, 112th R


only the bushes were more (Obama's not yet calculated)

 

U.S. National Debt Graph + Amazing YouTube Story of the Debt

 

Cumulative Totals:

Dem POTUS = 15.4
Rep POTUS = 15.1

Not a lot of difference. Of course there are many other factors not considered in the totals....

 

And this relates to post #3, how?

Reagan deserves credit for trying to slow spending.

a. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, from the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings act, set specific deficit reduction targets, and would have required drastic slashing of defense and domestic spending programs by 1990…except that Congress re-wrote the bill. John Samples, “The Struggle to Limit Government: A Modern Political History,” p. 139.

b. “Ronald Reagan sought- and won- more spending cuts than any other modern president. He is the only president in the last [forty-five] years to cut inflation adjusted nondefense outlays, which fells by 9.7 percent during his first term.” Veronique de Rugy, “President Reagan: Champion Budget-Cutter,” AEI - Papers

c. But…over his two terms, total federal spending increased 22% faster than inflation. On the other hand, if you consider it as a percentage of GDP, since he grew the economy, spending actually decreased from 22.2% to 21.2 %. Historical Tables | The White House


Of course, the discussion doen't include what Reagan bought with increased spending, and refusal to cut defense spending.

He changed the course of history.

Compare that to the current President's trillion dollar boondoggle, which has proven to be another nail in the coffin of Keynesian economic theory.

 

I think it also clears up an unspoken assumption that Republican means conservative...

Bush's stats clearly show him not to be conservative, as this implies smaller government and less regulation....

 

Well, Reagan ushered in one of the longest periods of post war prosperity through his policies, having inherited a terrible economy.
Obama has one of the slowest growth recoveries on record, despite spending billions more in "stimulus".
So why are you dredging up a 30 year old policy? Could it be to deflect attention from the Liebturd Obamarrhoid's failed policies??

 

The SS withholding was also increased too much giving Congress access to those surplus funds to spend.

How many spending bills did Reagan veto?