His Achievements

(shortened from Larry Sorbel’s Piece in the Examiner)

1. Reagan cut taxes for the Rich

Ronald Reagan is loved by conservatives and was loved by big business throughout his presidency and there’s a reason for it. When Reagan came into office in January of 1981, the top tax rate was 70%, but when he left office in 1989 the top tax rate was down to only 28%. As Reagan gave the breaks to all his rich friends, there was a lack of revenue coming into the federal government.

2. Raised taxes on the Middle Class

Reagan was forced to raise taxes eleven times throughout his time in office. One example was when he signed into law the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. Reagan raised taxes seven of the eight years he was in office and the tax increases were felt hardest by the lower and middle class.

3. Tripling the National Debt –

As Reagan cut taxes for the wealthy, the government was left with less money to spend. When Reagan came into office the national debt was $900 billion, by the time he left the national debt had tripled to $2.8 trillion.

4. Iran/Contra –

In an attempt to free the hostages held in Iran , Ronald Reagan secretly sold arms and money to Iran and used that money to fund the Nicaragua Contra rebels who were in a war with the Sandinista government of Nicaragua.

5. Reagan funded Terrorists –

The same group that attacked the United States on 9/11 was funded by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s when Reagan spent billions of dollars funding the Islamist mujahidin Freedom Fighters in Afghanistan.

6. Tax breaks for outsourcing jobs

When Ronald Reagan came into office his cuts in  taxes for the wealthy encouraged corporations to ship more jobs out of the United States while hiring cheap foreign labor.

7. Ignoring AIDS –

Reagan kept quiet. Reagan couldn’t say the words AIDS or HIV until seven years into his presidency, a leader not so much.

8. Reagan gave amnesty to 3 million Undocumented Immigrants –

In 1982 Ronald Reagan gave nearly 3 million undocumented workers amnesty. The biggest reason for undocumented workers coming to the United States is because corporations hire them at a cheaper rate than they would an American citizen. All the laws that would have cracked down on companies who hire undocumented workers were, of course, removed from the bill.

9. His attack on Unions and the Middle Class –

On August 3rd, 1981, PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization) went on strike in an effort to get better pay and safer working conditions. Two days later, taking the side of business, Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 workers for not returning to work.

10. Reagan raided the Social Security Trust fund –

Listening to Alan Greenspan and other advisors, Ronald Reagan raided the Social Security Trust Fund and replaced it with glorified IOU’s. Ronald Reagan raised the Social Security tax rate which did add to the revenue, but because there is a cap on Social Security, currently no income over $113,700 is taxed for Social Security, the wealthy didn’t feel the tax increase and the pain was pushed to the middle and lower classes.