Archived Opinion

Ronald Reagan was an economic powerhouse

To the Editor:

Even his critics agree that Ronald Regan did great things for the U.S. economy. Just look at these numbers: the best job creation record in American history, with an estimated unemployment rate of 5.6 percent by the seventh year of his term; sixty-three straight months of economic expansion; and 25 straight months of manufacturing expansion. Investors had an unprecedented gain of 220 percent in their investments in a 5.5-year period, a feat which benefited every aspect of the economy.

Just to be clear, the above statistics are for the current administration. Here is what a recent article in Forbes had to say, “Economically, President Obama’s administration has outperformed President Reagan’s in all commonly watched categories. Simultaneously the current administration has reduced the deficit, which skyrocketed under Reagan. Additionally, Obama has reduced federal employment, which grew under Reagan (especially when including military personnel) and truly delivered a ‘smaller government.’ Additionally, the current administration has kept inflation low, even during extreme international upheaval, failure of foreign economies (Greece), and a dramatic slowdown in the European economy.” (Forbes, 9-5-2014, Adam Hartung)

Under George Bush, more than 8 million lost their health insurance coverage; and the cost of health care continued to dramatically increase. The ACA (Affordable Care Act) has reduced the uninsured by more than 10 million and in the three years since 2010, health care spending growth rates are the slowest since record keeping began in 1960. Remember, every uninsured visit to an emergency room cost you money because Ronald Regan sponsored the law that requires the taxpayers to pick up the tab.

Ronald Regan declared amnesty for more than 3 million undocumented immigrants. Since Obama has been in office, he has overseen the deportation of over 2 million illegal aliens. He has increased boarder security to the highest level in history and, now, the net illegal immigration is zero. If you are concerned about immigrants overrunning this county, then Obama should be your hero.

Critics of his recent executive action are reminded that this problem has festered ever since Regan's amnesty plan failed. The system is broken and must be fixed. Obama has said, if you don't like it “pass a bill. ”

History, of course, will be the judge; but many independent presidential historians are predicting that President Obama will be one of the most successful presidents in modern history. That could be why so many Republicans what to impeach him.

Louis Vitale

Franklin

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