Do you accept the fact that Reagan was a better President than all of these: (user search)

The debt exploded during Reagan's term but let's not forget that debt was 25-30% of GDP when Reagan started, so it's much easier to explode the debt from that point as even a relatively small deficit would increase the debt to GDP ratio. When Reagan left the deficit was 50-55% of GDP which generally isn't really a dangerous level. I won't deny that Reagan was somewhat irresponsible though.

Obama also didn't do a lot about the deficit. Obama cutting the deficit by two thirds largely was a consequence of Obama entering office literally right after the worst recession (deficit was 10% of GDP lol) and leaving during a relatively good period. Debt to GDP exceeded 100% after he left and the long term fiscal outlook is very bleak with SS and medicare costs being projected to explode (and it's even worse with dipsh**t Trump entering office). Obama didn't do much about that, Reagan atleast foresaw that hordes of babyboomers would retire and made a deal with the Democrats which slowly but surely raised the retirement age to 67 (I believe the Dems got some tax increases in exchange)

I actually think both Obama and Reagan were decent presidents who did a decent job given the circumstances, with the dodgy fiscal outlook they left America with as one of their few flaws (Obama left the country with a worse fiscal outlook, but he had a better reason for it than Reagan so that's pretty much a wash). Obama sucked on some foreign policy things, Reagan sucked on social policy/AIDS crisis and both left behind what you could see as a potential future fiscal mess, but in the end they also both left America stronger and more economically prosperous than it was when at the start of their terms.

And I don't even think Reagan's tax cuts were that unreasonable, even though he probably went too far and should have sought to made the revenue impact of his tax cuts smaller by raising revenue in more efficient ways (read: reduce tax deductions or raise efficient taxes). Reagan's 1981 bill was the only actual tax cut and it reduced the top rate form 70% to 50% (which really isn't too unreasonably imo, if you add up state income tax rate those top rates get way too high). In 1986 he slashed the top rate to 28% but the tax cut was revenue neutral since it was largely offset by raising the capital gains tax and reducing corporate loopholes, so it was both revenue neutral and distributionally neutral. So sure, Reagan reduced the top income rate from 70% to 28% and the top corporate rate from 46% to 35% (which may look scarily plutocratic to liberals) but he offset almost half of that by raising capital gains taxes and eliminating corporate loopholes. And besides, how many people want a 70% top rate and a 45% corporate tax rate (aside from the usual suspects lol)?

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