The historical myth that Reagan raised $1 in taxes for every $3 in spending cuts

[unhappycamper]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/the-historical-myth-that-reagan-raised-1-in-taxes-for-every-3-in-spending-cuts/2012/12/13/58a33e4c-4555-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_blog.html



“In 1982, Ronald Reagan sat down with the Democrats and they had a deal — a $3 cut in spending for every dollar they raised in taxes. Guess what? They raised the taxes, and they never cut the spending.”

The historical myth that Reagan raised $1 in taxes for every $3 in spending cuts
Posted by Glenn Kessler at 06:02 AM ET, 12/14/2012

It had become an article of faith by conservatives that President Reagan reluctantly agreed to raise taxes in his first term in office — and that Congress then failed to follow though on promised spending cuts. The frequent recitation of this story during the current fiscal debate made us wonder: What actually happened three decades ago?

~snip~

It is time to abandon this myth. Reagan may have convinced himself he had been snookered, but that belief is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the deal he had reached.

Congress was never expected to match the tax increases with spending cuts on a 3-to-1 basis. Reagan appeared to acknowledge this in his speech when he referred to outlays (which would include interest expenses), rather than spending cuts. In the end, lawmakers apparently did a better job of living up to the bargain than the administration did.

If people want to cite the lessons of history, they need to get the history right in the first place.

[Doctor_J]

1. Big Media's entire Reagan history is bullshit at this point

He was a stupid, lying, Alzheimer-riddled crook who set the nation into its death spiral, financially, ideologically, and morally.

[santamargarita]

2. That sonuvabitch raised taxes on the middle class 7 times.