What exactly did Ronald Reagan achieve as President in the 1980's?

Question

I was a child during the 1980's and did not understand politics at all. However, based on what my parents have told me, he was a mediocre President at best, and all of my highly intellectual friends who've studied politics have said that he was not a good President whatsoever. And there was no mention about any of his accomplishments after his tenure as President. So, I'm here to get the other side of the story. What exactly did he achieve when he was President?

*Supposedly, he "ended" the Cold War. But, many historians have claimed that he only came in during the last quarter of the game and finished it and took credit for the efforts of the many other people who were involved in the endeavor.

The reason why I entered the Cold War section was to address how he "caused" the USSR to collapse. He came in at the last minute and broke up the USSR and took credit for all the people who were involved in it.

Answer 1

Let see, ..................
1. Sold weapons to Iran.
2. Trained and established Osama Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda in Afganistan and Pakistan.
3. Record budget deficits and soaring national debt.
4. Dept of Housing and Urban Devlopment grant rigging.
5. Lobbying scandals
6. EPA controversy
7. Savings and loan bailout
8. Turned USA from the leading lender in the world to the leading borrower.
9. Spent $2.2 trillion on SDI with no tangible results, only to be completed under Bill Clinton.
10. Funded the Contras.
11. Used money raised via drug trafficing to fund Contras.
12. Started the foothold of the Republican Terrorism Party, by constantly raising fear in US citizens with useless nuclear drills,which he knew would not work anyways.
13. Eliminated federal price controls on oil, thus the current unregulated price gauging.
14. Spread the myth about less taxation yeilds more tax revenue. Proof as follows:

The alleged doubling of revenue is significantly smaller when looking at real inflation-adjusted figures ($1,077.4 billion in 1981 to $1,235.6 billion in 1988, measured in FY2000-dollars). Furthermore, an analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities states that "history shows that the large reductions in income tax rates in 1981 were followed by abnormally slow growth in income tax receipts, while the increases in income-tax rates enacted in 1990 and 1993 were followed by sizeable growth in income-tax receipts". Specifically, the analysis calculated that the average annual growth rate of real income-tax receipts per working-age person was 0.2% from 1981 to 1990 and a much higher 3.1% from 1990 to 2001.

15. High unemployment rate of almost 10% in both 1982 and 1983.
16. The hypocritical Drug War, which was much used to fund his illegal activities.
17. Took the solar tiles off the White House.
18. Ignored HIV and AIDS like Bush did Katrina.
19. Helped to establish Saddam Hussien.
20. Had a significant amount of his Administration either convicted or forced to resign due to scandals. (Sound Familiar???)
21. Started the Christofacist movement with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
Oh! Yeah!
22. Tried to name Kethup as a food group.

Answer 2

i think of usually, governors are greater advantageous suited than senators or reps to deal with Presidency. In Congress, you're particularly handling legislature. As a governor, a guy or woman has already had prepare with juggling many distinctive departments and responsibilities. Being a governor is like being a president, merely on a smaller scale. i think of Reagan surely had greater journey than Obama has, surely. Now, as to Schwarzenegger, he does not meet the Constitutional standards. he's no longer even an decision worth pondering.

Answer 3

As you could have expected you are getting a lot of praise for him ending the cold war - but noone actually saying how - it jsut happened on his watch so he must be great.

Let's have a look at the points made by coolmommy

"He had a huge positive impact on the economy and changed they way we think about govt's affect on it." This is questionable. Growth was considerably higher under Clinton than it was under Reagan and unemployment considerably lower. The invent of supply side economics is universally claimed as a success by conservatives despite not achieving what they set out to do. After the first round of tax cuts the economy slid further into recession. Economic growth was sluggish even after the recovery set in. The cuts that were supposed to be revenue neutral actually turned out to be disastrous as revenue did not match 1981 levels again until 1987.

"HIs foreign policy was brilliant." Let's look at the key moments of Reagan's foriegn policy. He cut and run in Lebanon, Supported brutal murderous dictators in Latin America, South East Asia and Africa, provided arms to both Iraq and Iran, helped to develop the extremist Islamic groups that would later become the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The break down of the Soviet Union was predominantly an internal Russian issue. Moderates like Gorbachev came to power and repositioned USSR internal politics. What Reagan did not do was embrace former Soviet republics and prevent them falling into hardline governments of thier own.

Answer 4

He pioneered the Star Wars defense program which is still being refined today and has led to many of our anti missle defences.

He did bring about the collapse of the Soviets by de classifying the stealth bomber. The Soviets never could believe that when something new is released that the old will still be used so they switched their entire defence program to counter the Stealth. After they did that Reagan declared that the stealth wasn't that good and he was going back to the B-52s, that switch was the final straw that pretty much bankrupted the Soviets. He also really provoked them as well, I forget the date but we had our navy ping the soviet navy at he exact same time one day to show them we could do it.

Those are the two good things that stick out in my mind, I never believed in trickle down economics and he caused the huge gap between working class and owners, prior to Reagan a CEO made like 45-60 times what a laborer made, today it is like 400 times, Reagan initiated that.

Plus he made a slip of the tongue at a news confrence saying he launched nukes at Russia, the cameras weren't suppose to be on. That is up there with Bush sr. puking on Japan's prime minister.

Answer 5

The man who played the role of the president for eight years just like did before as a B-actor. Tried to makes all feel happy why worry just be happy! Catered to the rich and powerful tax cut for rich. His record for national debt out does every other president. Sold arms for hostages and made Ollie North an American hero. Ignored the AIDS crisis for eight years while people suffered and died all in the name of compassion.

Answer 6

I was a young mother at the time, and in high school when Carter was pres. The most important thing he did for the nation was to restore pride in America and dispel the despair that had overtaken my generation.

I remember grocery shopping (pre-UPC days) and seeing 3 and 4 price stickers on the same package on the shelves. The prime interest rate was in the 20% range. My husband and I (and our friends) thought that we would never be able to buy a house as long as we lived. Businesses were going under all over the nation. I remember boarded up businesses all over own town.

He also restored dignity to the office of President of the United States. Journalists had begun to wonder if the office had gotten too large for one man, because Carter was in over his head.

But the most important thing Reagan did was to turn us around from our headlong dive into socialism. Small businesses began to thrive again. He encouraged and pressured Congress into passing laws friendly to business, and reducing government waste.

I remember the late 70's as a time of despair and fear for the future. Changing that was Reagan's greatest legacy.

Answer 7

Reagan's greatest accomplishment?

He made it perfectly legal to starve and sleep on the streets!Reagan's tenure as president created more unmitigated poverty and homelessness than any president since Hoover and
no president has created as much poverty since he was in office,including Dumbya,his Daddy and Slick Willie combined.

Answer 8

Take a look at your source. They don't sound like conservatives. Think on your own. Liberals will tell you to do just that, but their views/opinions are what? Predictable?
Reducing the size of government and taxes sounds bad?

Answer 9

He is the first actor who became President. But he is the one who pushed the U.S.S.R into virtual bankruptcy resulting to end of Cold War. Reagan increased spending for the Arms Race to the point where the Soviet Union could no longer afford to continue forcing Gorbachev to deal and end the Cold War.

Answer 10

He took us from the depression of the late 1970's to the turn around of the 80's watch the movie "Miracle" and you will get a sense of the down feeling of the country at that time.

Later in 1984, he was re-elected in a landslide election where almost the entire country went with him again!! you tell me when has that happened before or since? His.."are you better now that you were 4 years ago?" question/statement for his relection did it, refering to the Carter years, marking the big difference between his presidency and the disastrous one before (Carter)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDtCEZhIWiU

the military was a mess due to the loss in Nam. Reagan turned that around and thanks to his build up we kicked butt in the war in 1991 (weapons were bought during his buildup of the 80's)

and finally he won the Cold War, late 70's USSR was on the offensive in Afghanistan, Africa, even across our shores in Latin America, putting in place Communist regimes in places like Angola, Nicaragua, etc and we were weak...! with policies like "Detente" basically kissing their butts!!

Reagan turned that around, called them for what they were "an evil empire" and set to destroy it with the help of Marggie in England and Pope John Paul, they together overcame the Communists in many fronts culminating in the collapse of the Eastern Block Communist regimes in 1989 and subsequently the USSR itself in 1991..!

so Reagan is one of the most important presidents this country has ever had in the context of the BIG PICTURE of things, he wasn't perfect and made some mistakes, BUT ver all the trend of his performance is outstanding!

I know, I served in the Navy under his presidency...and Bush senior and Clinton....Reagan was great! An for those who say otherwise you are just angry and are a bunch of sad puppies, sorry to say, but the FACTS say that he was one of the greatest we ever had, and I wish we had again!