No Nostalgia For Reagan | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: A few things - it was the lower tax rates on the wealthy that made union busting pay. Also, Paul Volker wringing inflation out of the economy was aided by such cuts and union busting - ending the demand pull on inflation by labor. That wringing did not cause growth. It was entirely due to deficit spending.
On the Soviets, the establishment in defense and intelligence knew exactly how poor they were, even before the defense buildup. The buildup then, as now, was a jobs program for defense firms and their congressional districts. The link to actual defense needs was minimal. We are buying the latest thing because it is the latest thing - not because we can't win with what we have.
The other point on foreign policy is that Reagan yielded his Central American policy to the CIA and probably to its former director, his Vice President, who has never been held responsible for the excesses of El Salvador, Hondures or Guatemala. The waive of immigration by criminals started under Reagan. Bush and Obama sent the criminals back - leading to the current humanitarian crisis.
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