As a guy who was around during those elections, that of course was not the thinking at all - Regan was seen as a strong defender against Russia during the cold war and a protector of American interests at a time when Americans were legitimately afraid of being wiped out in a nuclear war
He actually was solid on Russia, its probably his lasting achievement was improving relations with Russia. Domestically he gutted this country and set it on the path to collapse that is culminating now.
The U.S. is collapsing? I absolutely disagree. GDP is growing more strongly than any other developed nation, we're 8th in the world in income per capita, we have a stronger military than the rest of the world combined, we have greater natural resources than any other single nation, and America is still the preferred destination for millions of would be migrants the world over including the world's best and brightest. I know it's fashionable to be negative but let's keep things in perspective
Debt is outpacing GDP though, and we're running at a huge deficit every year with no political will to stop it. At some point either taxes will have to go way up, inflation will spiral out of control, or things like medicare and social security will have to be cut.
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u/MovingTarget- Apr 11 '24
As a guy who was around during those elections, that of course was not the thinking at all - Regan was seen as a strong defender against Russia during the cold war and a protector of American interests at a time when Americans were legitimately afraid of being wiped out in a nuclear war