You can thank The Gipper for the mortgage crisis, record federal deficits, spiraling cost of college

[somone]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-white/reagans-true-legacy-termi_b_818722.html

Reagan's True Legacy: Terminating the American Dream
Jane White

...You can thank The Gipper for the birth of the current mortgage crisis. As William Kleinknecht, author of The Man Who Sold the World, put it, Reagan pushed for the elimination of all ceilings on interest rates and restrictions on loans, with his goal to "allow all depository institutions to make the same type of loans in whatever amount they see fit." The subsequent Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 enabled lenders to issue adjustable rate and interest-only mortgages, the drivers of the current mortgage meltdown.

As I pointed out in my book, America, Welcome to the Poorhouse, the blame for runaway home prices also falls on Reagan since he slashed subsidies for low-income housing, making home ownership the only option for low-income families. In 1988 Reagan cut the housing budget to less than $8 billion compared to $32 billion under Carter, resulting in a 90% decrease in construction of new units in one year alone.

Wonder why we've got record federal deficits? Much of the cause stems from Reagan's corporate tax breaks; by 1983 the portion of tax receipts derived from corporate income taxes dropped to an all-time low of 6.2%, down from 12.5% in 1980 and 32.1% in 1952.

Finally, Reagan was also responsible for the spiraling cost of college, since he continued his vendetta against the government subsidy of "intellectual curiosity" launched while governor of California once he occupied the Oval Office. Although he didn't manage to abolish the Department of Education, he halved the portion of the federal budget spent on education from 12% of the budget to 6% of it. Given that more Americans believe that making college affordable is more important than reducing the deficit or cutting taxes, according to a survey cited in the Huffington Post, this measure directly defied the will of the people...

[Swede]

1. He wasn't to shabby at union busting,either.

nt

[liberal N proud]

2. Nearly every crisis this country faces today can be traced to a Reagan policy

[plumbob]

3. AND by getting the Saudis to open the oil spigot and keeping prices lower

than they would be otherwise, he also prevented the development of alternative energy!

Hardest working asshole in the business!

[uppityperson]

4. He put my family's business under and all their employees out of work

thanks for not funding highway and other structure maintenance.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Don't ever forget St. Ronald's war against infrastructure improvements

and alternative energy.