Economic plan familiar

Remember 1980 when Ronald Reagan gave us real hope of change for an economy that was reeling from a tax-and-spend Democrat, Jimmy Carter?

Republicans hoped Reagan would change the course in Washington and return to conservative values of less government spending and a balanced budget. Instead, he gave us Reaganomics, a variation of FDR’s New Deal economics based on the socialistic ideas of John Maynard Keynes, that a country can spend itself rich.

Reagan never proposed a balanced budget or one that lowered spending. Reaganomics increased government spending and cut tax rates at the same time, leading to record deficits and tripling the national debt from $900 billion to $2.7 trillion.

Yet the American people didn’t seem to care. The great communicator Reagan had done such a good job of convincing us that deficits and debt don’t really matter that George Bush, with the support of conservative Republicans, was able to run up deficits totaling $4.3 trillion, pushing the national debt to $10.7 trillion.

Once again, many people are filled with the hope of real change for an ailing economy. What has President Obama proposed? Reaganomics. Massive new government spending and more tax cuts.

Steve Dunham

Spokane