I ran across an interesting question about the election.

And I'm not saying that Reagan wasn't the first to raid the trust fund. What I said what that it is Congress who controls the purse strings and that they had to go along with Reagan and Greenspan to raid the trust fund.

Funny, you never answered who was in control of Congress from January 81 to January 89.

Here's a hint. Tip O'Neil and Jim Wright in the House of Representatives and Bob Byrd, Mark Hatfield, John Stennis in the Senate, among others, are JUST as responsible as Ronald Reagan or Allan Greenspan for raiding the trust fund AND for the budget deficits that were created during the same time period.

As for the rest of your comments, No, the income tax code is not irrelevant.

It is the motivation for Reagan’s tax cuts, which were without question justified.

No individual should ever pay a 70 to 90 percent of their income in taxes. That's ludicrous, no matter how much money an individual is making.

The mistake Reagan made wasn’t reducing the tax rate as that was the right thing to do. The mistake that he made, along with every President since, was in NOT reducing expenditures to what revenues would cover on increasing taxes across the board to all Americans if expenditures couldn’t be lowered and revenues had to be raised.

Funny thing about that, Sherm.

According to the article you posted, Alan Greenspan was the architect of this nightmare. Yet Bill Clinton reappointed him twice as Chair of the Fed. Furthermore, Clinton had no qualms about raiding the SS Trust Fund. Then there is that pesky little fact that the Democrats had to vote to authorize it.

So, blame Reagan and the Republicans all you like. The Democrats have certainly played a major role in this.

I believe the article by Hartmann states that Steph.

It was started by Reagan, and continued by Clinton and both Bushes.

The only real opposition was raised by Gore.

And to tell the truth I will have to accept yall's word that the Congress approved it.

Unless, of course, you have a reference.

Is the Constitution of the United States of America a good enough reference for you Sherman?

The executive branch DOES not have authority to control spending. That is a legislateve responsibility.

OK then I guess you are just assuming that the Congress approved it?

Congress HAD to approve it Sherman as they are the arm of the government that writes the checks and approves ALL spending.

I'm not sure what grade the teach that in Elementary School.

Aaron wrote:

sodbuster wrote:Case in point we have posters right here on the forum who are convinced the current economic meltdown is Bill Clinton's fault and poor old President Bush was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's so much that I don't blame Bush at all, because we acknowledge his shortcomings, I just point the finger at where today's economic climate got it's start, where it orginated, and like it or not Sherman, it is with Bill Clinton.

A few days ago it was all F.D. Roosevelt's fault.

So at least Roosevelt can rest easier in his grave now, anyway.

No, FDR can't rest easy as he shares a small amount of responsibility because of his unconstitutional New Deal programs?

But he can't be held responsible for every socialist program since, then. Just the ones he proposed and rammed through Congress and then blackmailed the Supreme Court to legalize.

Questions?