First Exactly when has Obama ever claimed his spending is Justified because Military Spending is always justified?
Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, etc.
Second, How much was the Debt and Deficit as a % of GDP under Reagan Compared to today? Do you even know?
This is the wrong ratio to look at, but this doesn't stop you Keynesians from justifying more spending. The correct ratio to look at is the marginal productivity of debt, as I previously posted.
"Reagan," Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2002, "proved deficits don't matter." Unless, that is, a Democrat is in the White House.
DEBT, in and of itself is not necessarily bad. For example, my house, worth $200,000 when bought, was borrowed against for $75,000. Now Im in debt by $75,000 more. However, with that borrowed money, I improved the house and made it worth about $500,000.
Debt MUST be taken in context to understand its real reprucussions.
What effects did president reagan's economic policies have on the country? - Yahoo! Answers
Reagan's policies are recognized by some as bringing about one of the longest peacetime expansions in U.S. history.[9] During the Reagan administration, the American economy went from a GDP growth of -0.3% in 1980 to 4.1% in 1988 (in constant 2005 dollars) [10], which reduced the unemployment rate by 1.6%, from 7.1% in 1980 to 5.5% in 1988, but with peaks of around 9.5% in 1982 and 1983.[11] A net job increase of about 16 million also occurred (about the rate of population growth).
Tax receipts
During the Reagan Administration, federal receipts grew at an average rate of 8.2% (2.5% attributed to higher Social Security receipts), and federal outlays grew at an annual rate of 7.1%.[28][29]
According to a United States Department of the Treasury economic study,[30] the major tax bills enacted under Reagan, in the short-term, significantly reduced (~-1% of GDP) government tax receipts. Separated out, however, it is clear that the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 was a massive (~-3% of GDP) decrease in revenues (the largest tax cuts ever enacted),[31] while other tax bills had neutral or, in the case of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, significant (~+1% of GDP) government revenue-enhancing effects. It should be however noted that the study did not examine the longer-term impact of Reagan tax policy, including sunset clauses and "the long-run, fully-phased-in effect of the tax bills".[30] The table below represents only a 4-year average:
On 8 of the 10 key economic variables examined, the American economy performed better during the Reagan years than during the pre- and post-Reagan years.
Real median family income grew by $4,000 during the Reagan period after experiencing no growth in the pre-Reagan years; it experienced a loss of almost $1,500 in the post-Reagan years.
Interest rates, inflation, and unemployment fell faster under Reagan than they did immediately before or after his presidency.
The only economic variable that was worse in the Reagan period than in both the pre- and post-Reagan years was the savings rate, which fell rapidly in the 1980s.
The productivity rate was higher in the pre-Reagan years but much lower in the post-Reagan years.
