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Comment by blueflow | Hacker News Reader

What tf did Reagan do that every other comment has a "Reagan bad" section?

Okay, I'll bite, although I'm afraid it's unlikely this will lead to much substantive discussion.

* "Trickle Down Economics": Large tax cuts for the wealthy while simultaneously dismantling social programs which benefit everyone else

* Arming authoritarian and far right militia in South America

* Environmental deregulation

* Giving a voice to the religious right and their anti-gay/anti-woman agenda

The basic problem is that everyone makes mistakes. I feel bad if people do things maliciously or in bad faith. None of those, as bullets, feel that way. He did a lot of big things, some of which will invariably be big mistakes.

Expanded from bullets (e.g. Iran-Contra) there was badness, but what would be helpful would be to:

1) Expand those out a little bit, to where we can see the bad.

2) Compare to other presidents for level of bad.

On the whole, I have complex feelings here. The quality of recent presidents and presidential candidates has been very, very low. I think I'd take Reagan over Hillary Clinton, Trump, or Biden. On the other hand, I think I'd take Obama, Romney, and probably McCain over Reagan.

The right's obsession with trickle down economics alone and the no new tax pledge is enough to think Reagan was a bad president.

We see an entire portion government apparatus effectively obsessed with killing the government, but only performatively. This is what I see as a Reagan special.

I agree about the harm that caused by that movement, but as much as Reagan was part of it, I have a hard time attributing the whole movement to him.

FWIW, as much as a president has a soapbox to advocate from, budget and tax policy are set by congress.

Reagan's administration did all that, and not to mention they side-channelled with Iran to not release the hostages so Carter couldn't have the win. Just pure machiavellian thought process.

Also: regulating ketchup as a "vegetable serving" (so school lunches didn't need to have fresh veggies).

Just thinking outside the box on how to completely F up government to serve their agenda.

oh yeah to begin he got real popular on being very pro union.

later on he fundamentally destroyed unions in America. unions have not recovered since all of what he did.

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