[Rhodes22-list] Politics and discussion between Slim, Brad, et al.

[DCLewis1 at aol.com]

Brad,
 
I continue to think you are ducking the big-spending/borrowing issue with  
neocons.  Your point regarding the economy when Reagan came in to office is  on 
the mark.  Carter and the economy were stuck in the mud.  So by all  means 
goose the economy in 1981 - but things were going again by 1982, the  goosing 
should have stopped.  Want to stretch things, OK goose the economy  in 1982.  But 
the US economy was not in recession in 1983, 84, 85, 86, 87,  88, and 89 and 
Reagan just kept goosing the economy.  You state the reason  he did that was 
the Cold War; well, the Cold War’s over after 1989, if you’re  doing this 
because of the Cold War you surely stop overspending after 89,  right?  Nope, the 
borrowing continues 1990, 91, 92.....until Clinton in  93.  I’ve heard neocons 
complain that government programs never end, let me  give you an example: the 
neocon borrowing and spending profile that continued  LOOONG after the Carter 
recession and LOOONG after the Cold War is over.   What Reagan and BushI 
really did over 12 years is constantly goose the economy,  debt be damned.
 
And now Jr is at it again.  Your point about the dot.com bust and 9/11  is on 
the mark, but as you point out, they are history (and have been history  for 
years);  Jr’s borrowing/spending isn’t history, it’s still  on-going.  The 
fiscal problem we have now is that the Fed responded to the  dot.com and 9/11, 
and then Jr also responded, result we’ve had 2 economic  stimuli going and now 
inflation is a concern.  Jr could have stopped his  overspending 4 to 5 years 
ago, if he were really focused on dot.com and 9/11;  what Jr is really focused 
on is goosing the economy, debt be damned. 
 
In my view, anyone that takes a debt be damned approach to things is not a  
fiscal conservative.  The hard facts and analyses show that the “liberals”  
have been a lot more conservative than the “new conservatives”.  And the  
problem with neocon overspending didn’t start with Jr, it started with Reagan  and 
it’s just kept going.
 
Dave