I prefer these editorial quotes from Reagan's day. Definitely a contrast from Reagan's rhetoric.
Ronald Reagan and bailouts.
"The government forged on Thursday a record $4.5 billion bail-out of the Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co., whose high-flying lending practices left if teetering with a huge portfolio of bad loans. On its face, the $4.5 billion rescue of the big Chicago bank departs significantly from the preference for market discipline, the swim or sink philosophy, that the administration has loudly proclaimed as the linchpin of its economic policy and its deregulation effort."
"For the first time, the Reagan Administration has agreed that taxpayers' money is needed to deal with the savings and loan crisis, industry officials close to the Administration said today. The officials said an agreement was reached this week between the Treasury and the Administration to include ''several billion dollars'' in President Reagan's final budget to further the process of shutting and merging more than 500 insolvent savings institutions.
Ronald Reagan and deficits.
"And for all his rhetoric about the evils of deficit spending, Reagan has never submitted a balanced budget to Congress (7 years in office). The $1 trillion plan he offered last January would leave a $135 billion deficit next year."
"The fiscal 1981 budget produced in Carter's last full year in office yielded a deficit of $78.9 billion. In the next year under Reagan, it climbed to $127.9 billion and then soared to $207.8 billion the following year. The deficit dropped back to $185.3 billion in fiscal 1984, jumped to $211.9 billion in fiscal 1985 and hit a record $226.7 billion in fiscal 1986."
Ronald Reagan and the national debt.
"Campaigning for president, Reagan blamed Carter for running up four straight deficits and said that when Carter left office, he would have "made the greatest single contribution of any president to the national debt." That legacy now belongs to Reagan."
"When he moved into the White House in January 1981, the national debt was $935 billion. Six years later, it has more than doubled, standing now at $2.28 trillion.The debt is projected to reach $2.7 trillion by the time Reagan leaves office."
Ronald Reagan and amnesty.
"Under the terms of the amendment by Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), backed by the Reagan administration, any illegal alien who has lived in the United States continuously since Jan. 1, 1977 would be granted permanent-resident status. Those who came and stayed after Jan. 1,1980 would be given temporary status and allowed to upgrade it after three more years. After gaining permanent residence, aliens could apply for citizenship in five more years."
"The Reagan administration today liberalized the rules for illegal aliens seeking amnesty under the new immigration law and predicted that at least 100,000 aliens would benefit from the change.The new regulation will affect persons who were residing illegally in the United States, left the country, then fraudulently used documents obtained at overseas consulates to re-enter the U.S. to resume their illegal residence. Such people, previously barred from the amnesty program, may now qualify."
Ronald Reagan and taxes
"Fortunately, Mr. Reagan was persuaded to the view that the national deficit spurs interest rates and thereby poses one of the most serious obstacles to the economy's growth. His decision to support $98.3 billion in new taxes spread over three years was crucial because the legislation would have gone nowhere without Mr. Reagan's vigorous support."
Perhaps Reagan wasn't all THAT bad though.
"The plan will raise taxes on businesses by about $100 billion through 1991 to pay for an average 6.2 percent tax cut for all individuals in 1988. It is estimated about six million working poor will drop off the tax rolls entirely.The wealthiest persons and profitable corporations will face a much stiffer minimum tax which will prevent their escaping federal taxation altogether."
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