Saturday, August 26, 2006
Fact-check re: Ronald Reagan
The Tennessean would do its readers a great service if it made use of a fact-checker to police the letters to the editor page. If such a step were taken, the Tennessean's readers would be spared the innacuracies of the kind that were printed Carey Moore's letter.
Implying that Ronald Reagan was responsible for the 10 percent unemployment rate that occured during his second term is sorta like saying President George W. Bush is responsible for Hurricane Katrina. (I'll bet one Carey Moore believes that one too.) When Reagan took office, inflation was growing at an annual rate of 12.4 percent and the prime interest rate sat at 21.5 percent. In response, Fed Chairman Paul Volcker instituted a policy of tight money that, unfortuneately, led to a deep recession and a spike in unemployment.
When Reagan announced his bid for re-election in 1983, the inflation monster had been slain and an era of unprecedented economic growth began. Indeed, the economic boom lasted 92 months without a recession, from November 1982 to July 1990, the second-longest period of sustained growth in U.S. history.
Also in need of a quick fact-check is the assertion that Ronald Reagan handed his successor, George H.W. Bush, an "economic mess." To wit:
Under President Reagan's watch, the American economy grew by about one-third in real inflation-adjusted terms. This was the equivalent of adding the entire economy of East and West Germany or two-thirds of Japan's economy to the U.S. economy.
From 1973 to 1982, real economic growth in the U.S. averaged only 1.6 percent. During the Reagan economic boom, the economy averaged 3.5 percent in real growth from the beginning of 1983 to the end of 1990.
19.9 million jobs were created from 1983-1990. By comparison, 16.4 million jobs were created during the Clinton years.
It's not difficult to find left-wingers who're willing to dump on Ronald Reagan and the Reagan Economy. When the Tennessean ran a favorable profile of former Reagan Administration economist Art Laffer, it was inevitable that a few anti-Reagan nuts would spark up their word processors. Since puttin' a fact-checkin' on these ignorant you-know-whats is something the Tennessean apparently doesn't want to do, I'm more than happy to do it ... for free.
Implying that Ronald Reagan was responsible for the 10 percent unemployment rate that occured during his second term is sorta like saying President George W. Bush is responsible for Hurricane Katrina. (I'll bet one Carey Moore believes that one too.) When Reagan took office, inflation was growing at an annual rate of 12.4 percent and the prime interest rate sat at 21.5 percent. In response, Fed Chairman Paul Volcker instituted a policy of tight money that, unfortuneately, led to a deep recession and a spike in unemployment.
When Reagan announced his bid for re-election in 1983, the inflation monster had been slain and an era of unprecedented economic growth began. Indeed, the economic boom lasted 92 months without a recession, from November 1982 to July 1990, the second-longest period of sustained growth in U.S. history.
Also in need of a quick fact-check is the assertion that Ronald Reagan handed his successor, George H.W. Bush, an "economic mess." To wit:
Under President Reagan's watch, the American economy grew by about one-third in real inflation-adjusted terms. This was the equivalent of adding the entire economy of East and West Germany or two-thirds of Japan's economy to the U.S. economy.
From 1973 to 1982, real economic growth in the U.S. averaged only 1.6 percent. During the Reagan economic boom, the economy averaged 3.5 percent in real growth from the beginning of 1983 to the end of 1990.
19.9 million jobs were created from 1983-1990. By comparison, 16.4 million jobs were created during the Clinton years.
It's not difficult to find left-wingers who're willing to dump on Ronald Reagan and the Reagan Economy. When the Tennessean ran a favorable profile of former Reagan Administration economist Art Laffer, it was inevitable that a few anti-Reagan nuts would spark up their word processors. Since puttin' a fact-checkin' on these ignorant you-know-whats is something the Tennessean apparently doesn't want to do, I'm more than happy to do it ... for free.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, August 26, 2006 
