Ronald Reagan’s name is going to come up a lot – a lo-hot-hot-hot-hot – in the next few weeks as the Republican primary heats up. But really, the Reagan we fondly think of isn’t who he really was. He deserves a lot of credit for the fall of the Soviet empire, and for being the best president of the 20th centrury, but he also gave amnesty to 3 million illegals and tripled the national debt, from the $950bn range to $2.9tn (depending on which figures you look at). That’s a 200% increase, more than George W. Bush ($5.7T to $10.7T, or 88%) and Obama’s projected 8-year budget ($10.7T to $24T, or 124%).
Actually, let’s be fair – Obama would have broken 200% a few months ago, but no one has been stupid enough to tell him what comes after “trillion.”
Reagan also grew the size of the Federal Government by more than 60,000 employees – something that would boil the blood of modern-day Reagan worshipers. He bailed out Social Security to the tune of $165 billion, raised the corporate tax rate, and instituted the Earned Income Tax Credit, which turned millions of Americans who didn’t pay federal income tax into millions of Americans who received free money from taxpayers.
So, in the coming days, when every Republican gets rug burns fellating the legacy of Ronald Reagan, just remember: Even Reagan wasn’t Reagan.
