🚀 go-pugleaf

envirolaw@accessone.com (Roger Kluck) says:
>hmcom@eskimo.com (company account) wrote:
>
>>>> Congress is to blame, not Reagan!
>>
>>
>>>The budget deficit that Carter was facing was in the 80 Billion range. In 
>>>Reagan's 8 years, he ran up a bigger deficit and debt than all of the 
>>>previous Presidents combined. That includes Johnson, Kennedy, Roosevelt, 
>>>and all the expenditures for WWII.
>>
>>Sounds like you are dodging the fact that *congress was controlled
>>by democrats*.  
>
>I know that makes Reagan fans feel good to dsay but its not true. The
>Senate was controlled by the Republicans for the first six years of
>Reagan's term. Yes the House was democratic, but for 3/4 of Reagan's
>time the Rs had the executive and 1/2 the Congrss, or 2/3 of the
>policy making machine.

While this is true, it is also true that a budget has to pass all three 
hurdles before being enacted into law. Winning two out of three is not 
good enough.

>Answer also why when the Presidnecy and both houses were Democratic,
>we had a mere fraction of the debt or deficit we saw after Reagan took
>office?

Still the debt was ONE TRILLION DOLLARS when Reagan got into office.  
It was a fraction of that at the begining of the previous administration 
under Carter and now it is still going up under Clinton.  What I see is
the annual *rate* of growth being about the same under each presidency.

>>Regardless of what you say, nothing occured
>>in this country which congress did not go along with.  As I
>>recall, President Reagan was feared politically by many
>>congress types, as he had so much popular support.  But the bottom
>>line is, he didn't hold a gun to anyone's head and make them
>>vote for anything. They did it because they agreed (or in
>>the case of some, they were just political whores, putting
>>their fingers in the wind.) 
>
>Chuckle. It's the congresses' fault they agreed with Reagan. That's
>cute.

I hope you are not trying to exonerate them from culpability.

>>  But the bottom line is, the government
>>is run by a lot of elected officials, and instead of blaming
>>one person based on newspaper clippings or emotions, you would
>>do welll to look in a voting record of your favorite congressman
>>and see if he;s talking out of both sides of his face.
>
>Closer to the truth. Both parties take so much money for corporate and
>special interests, they both give the big guys what they want and
>leave us the bill.

This  seems to be the real crux of the problem.

>The answer is campaign finance reform in my book.

Abolish term limits is the answer, throw 'em all in the slammer for life.

Dave Greene