Which decade was actually more conservative: the 1980s or the 1990s? (Reagan, illegal)

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by Originalist

The 80s by a mile. It was a conservative revival and the decade of upward mobility. From what I've heard from those older than me, it was my Happy Days decade. I turned 21 a few days after New Years 1980.

Interesting since the 1990's was the biggest boom experienced in a LONG time....due to the internet and technology.

The 80's had the S&L Crisis which was really big....at the time somewhat similar to the Great Recession. There were, even besides that, I think two recessions or slowdowns....which is why Bush didn't get re-elected in 1992. The other one was in Reagans first term I think...let me look.

Ok, recession #1:
"in September 1982, with the unemployment rate at 10.1%, most Americans were far from pleased with the state of the economy. A 54%-majority said Reagan’s policies had made their personal financial situation worse; just 34% said the policies had made their situation better"

recession #2:
1990 and 1991 (IMHO, largely the result of the S&L crisis - real estate was dead, etc.).

From 1992 until 2001 it was full speed ahead.

This is why anecdotes are...well, stories. I was there...and when your home doesn't go up in value for a decade due to the Banksters, you know about it!

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sl-crisis.asp
"The savings and loan (S&L) crisis was a slow-moving financial disaster that came to a head in the 1980s and 1990s and resulted in the failure of nearly a third of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States "

I may have stories - but, more importantly, I was there and running a number of mid-sized businesses.

[imbobbbb]

Originally Posted by Bobdreamz

All you have to do is see which party controlled Congress in both decades and you will have your answer.
Dems in the 80's and the Repubs in the 90's.

By the way I don't remember high schools allowing their students to bring guns or smoke on campus.
Where did you go to school that this happened?

The republicans didn't control congress until Jan 1995,so they only controlled it for 1/2 of the 90's and had a democrat in the whitehouse during that period.

When I graduated from high school in 1980 in the Wash DC suburbs of Maryland students could freely smoke outside and teachers still had a smoking lounge inside.Many of us carried a folding Buck knife,in a sheath on our belts,daily without anyone batting an eye.I don't recall anyone EVER using it as a weapon either,it was just a tool.People I knew in more rural areas did sometimes have rifles in gunracks in pickup trucks.

[prospectheightsresident]

Originally Posted by craigiri

I was there...but I honestly don't know.

If we define conservatism by the hypocrisy and things like that, I'd have to say Newt and Delay (1990's) were more deplorable. Yet the end of the 90's had the internet going...and the original internet was much less deplorable (conservative) than today, since those types of people didn't usually have the wiles to even get online until it became much easier to do so.

1980's were defined by Savings and Loan Crisis, Reaganomics, Iran-Contra and the like.

1990's were defined by the dot-com boom and the excitement and innovation around that...which were anything but conservative.

Looking at it that way, the 80's were more conservative all in all, but in the 90's Newt and Friends showed us what conservatism really was (scorched earth...hypocrisy, etc.).

I would've thought that Hillary's use of the term and subsequent backlash/defeat would have taught you guys something. Apparently not. But, keep it up, leftists. I am not complaining

[trlhiker]

Originally Posted by prospectheightsresident

I would've thought that Hillary's use of the term and subsequent backlash/defeat would have taught you guys something. Apparently not. But, keep it up, leftists. I am not complaining

^^^When you can't argue with the facts.

[redguitar77111]

Keep the thread about the 1980s and 1990s, please.

[floridarebel]

Late 1970s/ early 1980s shifted towards conservatism that lasted into the early 1990s. After early 1990s, there was slow tilt towards liberalism that took place. Both 1980s and 1990s were more conservative overall than the 1970s. Around 2002 with war on terrorism starting, we saw another conservative swing that lasted until around 2007 followed by another left wing shift after Obama went into office.

[NVplumber]

Ahh the 80s. Those were good times. I was young, had a good job with a company that was prospering. It was just me , my dog and a good truck forted up at a nice place outside the city. Then moved back to the hometown and hug out with my Dad on the ranch. Life was indeed good.

[Winterfall8324]

The 90s was when the democrats moved permanently right.

That meant we had no left wing voices in the government.

The Media for example could not find one critical thing to say about the Yugoslav wars, the gulf war, NAFTA, or the breaking of anti-trust laws.

[bawac34618]

The ‘80s were more culturally conservative. A lot of people who loved the ‘80s hated the ‘90s. There was a shift towards social liberalism that occurred the large coastal urban areas around the early 90s. That was reflected in edgier, envelope-pushing entertainment that drove the Christian Right nuts. Then there was Clinton who was viewed as almost being the anti-Christ.

When it came to public policy, the 90s were more authoritarian than the 80s because of the work done by Falwell and Co in the 80s.

[travis t]

I voted 1990s, because there was a right-ward shift generally starting with Reagan, which continued after he left office in 1989. The GOP took the US house for the first time in 40 years in 1994. In retrospect, Clinton was probably center-right in practice. I just read Chasing Hillary by Amy Chozick about the 2016 campaign. She talks about how Hillary was having to constantly run away from pieces of Bill's record. Welfare reform and the 1994 crime bill were two big ones, and there were others such as banking reform (Glass-Steagall).