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Assessing the Reagan Years
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420 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1988
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July 14, 2024
AN INTERESTING CRITIQUE OF THE LEGACY OF RONALD REAGAN
Editor David Boaz (born 1953) is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, and also the author/editor of books such as 'Libertarianism: A Primer,' 'The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman,' 'Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World', etc.
This 1988 book contains essays by a wide variety of analysts, broken down into areas such as Taxing and Spending; Foreign and Defense Policy; Money and Banking; Transfer Payments; Domestic Policies; Law and the Courts; and The Reagan Legacy. Boaz wrote in his Introduction, "The Reagan administration changed some public policies, though fewer than the conventional wisdom acknowledges. It also changed the tone of the debate in Washington, though it is doubtful whether that achievement will endure... the Reagan Revolution will likely prove to be... only the Reagan Interlude."
Boaz noted that although conservatives praised Reagan's "big picture" style of administration, "the 'details' that bored Reagan turned out to include the selection of cabinet officers, White House staffers, and other key personnel as well as the federal budget." (Pg. 3) Reagan's projections of a balanced budget by 1984 was, moreover, based on a "huge forecasting error" (Pg. 55), exacerbated by his "massive and unprecedented peacetime defense buildup." (Pg. 90)
In foreign policy, the so-called Reagan Doctrine "seemed to require the United States to choose between equally unsavory groups whose brutality was distinguishable only by whether it was used to hold power or to seize it." (Pg. 102)
One essayist asserts that "Now, seven years later, the regulatory landscape surprisingly looks much as it did on January 20, 1981. There have been few deregulatory statutes passed." (Pg. 271) Another one suggests that Reagan's famous firing of the air traffic controllers in 1981 was "a short-lived reaction by an actor who wished to be loved rather than to sustain sound managerial policies. Now the traffic controllers have re-unionized and there has been little progress toward modernizing or privatizing the troubled air traffic control system." (Pg. 324-325)
Edwar Crane notes that Reagan's legacy is actually an increase of federal spending from 22% of GNP to 24%, as well as an increase of 159,000 "federal bureaucrats"; and "The Department of Education has not only not been abolished, but its budget has been increased by a billion dollars a year since Ronald Reagan was elected." (Pg. 423)
Critical and opinionated, this book is also a very insightful one, and far different from the usual liberal/progressive critiques one reads.
Editor David Boaz (born 1953) is the executive vice president of the Cato Institute, and also the author/editor of books such as 'Libertarianism: A Primer,' 'The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman,' 'Toward Liberty: The Idea That Is Changing the World', etc.
This 1988 book contains essays by a wide variety of analysts, broken down into areas such as Taxing and Spending; Foreign and Defense Policy; Money and Banking; Transfer Payments; Domestic Policies; Law and the Courts; and The Reagan Legacy. Boaz wrote in his Introduction, "The Reagan administration changed some public policies, though fewer than the conventional wisdom acknowledges. It also changed the tone of the debate in Washington, though it is doubtful whether that achievement will endure... the Reagan Revolution will likely prove to be... only the Reagan Interlude."
Boaz noted that although conservatives praised Reagan's "big picture" style of administration, "the 'details' that bored Reagan turned out to include the selection of cabinet officers, White House staffers, and other key personnel as well as the federal budget." (Pg. 3) Reagan's projections of a balanced budget by 1984 was, moreover, based on a "huge forecasting error" (Pg. 55), exacerbated by his "massive and unprecedented peacetime defense buildup." (Pg. 90)
In foreign policy, the so-called Reagan Doctrine "seemed to require the United States to choose between equally unsavory groups whose brutality was distinguishable only by whether it was used to hold power or to seize it." (Pg. 102)
One essayist asserts that "Now, seven years later, the regulatory landscape surprisingly looks much as it did on January 20, 1981. There have been few deregulatory statutes passed." (Pg. 271) Another one suggests that Reagan's famous firing of the air traffic controllers in 1981 was "a short-lived reaction by an actor who wished to be loved rather than to sustain sound managerial policies. Now the traffic controllers have re-unionized and there has been little progress toward modernizing or privatizing the troubled air traffic control system." (Pg. 324-325)
Edwar Crane notes that Reagan's legacy is actually an increase of federal spending from 22% of GNP to 24%, as well as an increase of 159,000 "federal bureaucrats"; and "The Department of Education has not only not been abolished, but its budget has been increased by a billion dollars a year since Ronald Reagan was elected." (Pg. 423)
Critical and opinionated, this book is also a very insightful one, and far different from the usual liberal/progressive critiques one reads.
Displaying 1 of 1 review