Financial Crisis Bailout Marks End of Reagan Revolution

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I'm pretty sure Ronald Regan said Government isn’t the solution, government is the problem &
A rising tide lifts all boats
And if de-regulation you mean granting more power to the individual states, yes he did!
Did much re-regulation occur under Daddy Bush and Clinton, you bet.
According to the Cato Institute, Regan's economic policies worked and worked well!

theamericanpatriotsvoice of CO 2:57AM April 09, 2010

It’s a quite difficult decision for any politician choosing between more bailout packages or letting the free market economic principles take care of the failed businesses, whether it is the financial institutions or automakers. The main focus should be defending the interests of middle-class Americans and creating a stable economic system that will guarantee long-term stability and sustainability. But here we also can face more challenges, since right now the Washington politicians are talking about the second large bailout package. If we bailout financial institutions and other industries again, when are they going to ask for the third bailout package? Or fourth? Maybe this is a time to let free market economy work rather than keep bailing out large, failed corporations? After all, it is the small and medium size businesses that create vast majority of middle-class jobs in America, not the large corporations. Maybe the government is better off to replace banks in lending practices and directly give loan packages with low interest rates to small and medium size businesses? That might work better and have a direct, immediate impact on economy and the middle-class America…

David Dzidzikashvili of MA 10:21AM January 17, 2009

It is very important when you put together a plan like this that you don't reward those who didn't behave well," said Paola Sapienza, associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management.John Cochrane, professor of finance at the University of Chicago, is also skeptical."Perhaps they know something they have not told us, but before you go nuclear, I think we need to know if there is something really bad out there that you are not telling us about," he said...But according to Wall Street traders in the thick of things, a bailout is essential.

Condominiums Toronto of CO 4:29AM January 10, 2009

Funny how many comments here attack Reagan's policies when it was the DemocRAT-controlled Congress of the 80s that was spending 2 dollars to every one dollar brought in from tax cuts.
The whole reason we have governments is because people are naturally slothful and want everything for nothing. Socialist governments promise to fulfill all needs and wants on someone else's dime, and because people want to be cared for like children, they fall for it almost every time.
Failed Republicans abandoning ship for corrupt socialism are not the same as socialist barnacles clinging to the hull. There will be one last hurrah before the end.

Tiger Tinn of FL 10:06AM October 04, 2008

McCain isn't the one trying to protect these corporations, Bush AND the Dems in congress are. There is no doubt that these corporate CEO's are the ones who continue to walk away with muli-millions while everyone else suffers. That is something Congress can do something about, if a company fails then all the Corp CEO and VP's get nothing and have to pay back their previous years salary. But now if Obama gets in, government is going to continue to expand to such a degree it will be obscene.

Russ Guy of CO 12:01PM September 26, 2008

Your analysis is interesting but flawed in that it does not account nearly enough for the role of bloated government in this mess. Over the last several decades, America has gotten accustomed to being a free rider society. More and more people depend on government to be the solution, in financial planning, welfare and now more so in health care for example. At the same time, and partially as a result, people continue to live beyond their means, continually refinancing homes for cash and purchasing homes with adjustable rate mortgages that they couldn't afford. Encouraged by the government, we as a society have been living beyond our means in a credit bubble, and that bubble is bursting.
Many of the problems that you mention are as a result of big government, the baby boom retirement that we are facing, for example, is atop the list. If people were entrusted to plan their own retirements, the government would not be facing a problem. The idea of affordable housing is another example where pushes for loans for affordable housing for people who didn't have the means helped put Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into its current predicament. The main problem is that we have become an entitlement society, based on credit and the idea that people can be free riders.
The Reagan Revolution stood against all of these things. The problem is that the Reagan Revolution was hijacked by political expediency which has led to growing debt and a lack of personal responsibility. Now is the time to go back to the fundamental point of the Reagan Revolution which is that a little intellectual elite, in a far distant capitol can't plan our lives better than we can ourselves, because this financial mess proves that they cannot.

Sean Engmann of CA 7:14PM September 25, 2008

Thanks for your thoughts on the Regan legacy and financial crisis

Dean Chovan of TX 4:13PM September 23, 2008

“A friend of mine was asked to a costume ball a short time ago…He slapped some egg on his face and went as a liberal economist.” ---Ronald Reagan
It seems what goes round comes round. Too bad the old boy didn't live to see the ultimate folly of Reaganomics--and too bad we all have to suffer for its folly.

Dennis J. Naughton of MA 9:54AM September 23, 2008

It is naive to believe that the political economic system
practiced by the U.S., since inception, has been anything
close to a "perfect" free market -
What about slaves, war economies, military spending, tax
subsidies, agricultural subsidies, tariffs, using power
to gain trade advantages .....
Why even bother to discuss it ?
Only suckers still believe in this rhetoric that continues
to exploit 90% of Americans while enriching the top 10%
who spew this propaganda like Clinton onto a Jewish girls
dress !
Go to any densely populated metropolitan area and
walk down the street at night - there you will find
the legacy of Reagan - folks lying in the gutters, sleeping
on bus benches, begging for money, - many veterans of war -
while, others cruise by, windows up, in their bmws, escalades,
mercedes, not even noticing the state of affairs that their
fellow men endure ---
What kind of person wants to live in a world such as this ?
Rather than helping your fellow man, maybe sacrificing an
insubstantial amount, live a dignified life, - using your
power as leverage to gain more power to feel secure ?
I feel sorry for these people.
America's luck in being distant from the locations at which
WWI and WWII were fought are more responsible than any
nationalistic superiority for its "success" and prosperity.
Leverage gained from losses sustained to the other powers
allowed the U.S.( more like the "them", because it's not really
us anymore) bankers to set themselves up to get richer and stay
richer at the expense of the worker.
Humpty Dumpty has fallen - maybe the Japanese can glue him
back together ?
I am going to go surf down in Mexico !!!
Keep watching that 401K !

John H. of KY 2:33AM September 23, 2008

I urge any one wanting to hear a better explanation, complete with historical references to statements by our past presidents to visit the Bill Moyers PBS website. Mr. Moyers interviewed Mr. Andrew Bacevich this summer. The interview I speak of is the August 15th interview. Mr. Bacevich is a professor of history, a retired army colonel and has testified on this matter to Congress. His insights and perceptions are dead on. As Bill Moyers recognized, Mr. Bacevich speaks truth to power, no matter who is in power.

RLeissner of TX 9:03PM September 22, 2008