Reaganomics vs Obamanomics
President Obama’s term is about to end. So how does he compare to Reagan? Unsurprisingly, he does not come out of this looking too good. Obama’s policies were the complete antithesis to what Reagan implemented, which is surprising since Reagan’s success was there for everyone to see. I’m not saying Obama has been a bad President; he has actually managed quite some achievements on his own, but they still do not compare to what Reagan managed.
For example, while Reagan decreased federal spending significantly, Obama actually increased it by around 28 percent in just his first two years in office, according to Forbes. Obama also saw a fall in the value of the dollar, as he did not reduce supply as Reagan did to control inflation. The contrast is so significant that while Reagan practiced deregulation, Obama has further regulated various industries, including finance and energy, which has been viewed as a negative move by many. This is why while Reagan had an economic growth of 7.1 percent, his counterpart Obama managed only 2.8 percent in the same period. While unemployment fell by 3.3 percent in the Reagan administration, Obama only managed to reduce it by 1.3 percent. During Obama’s term in 2010, the Census Bureau stated that the Americans who were in poverty were the highest in the last 51 years. Another important consideration is that Reagan achieved all this success while battling an out of control inflation rate. In contrast, Obama’s term has seen inflation rise significantly.
Once again, I reiterate that I am not criticizing Obama or accusing him of being a bad President. I think he did really well considering the problems he inherited, and while he may have slipped on occasions, he did a pretty good job. It’s just that when compared with Reagan and his achievements, they pale in comparison.
All in all, there can be no doubt that Reagan was one of the best Presidents the country has ever seen, and any attempt to devalue his contributions should be strongly condemned. There is nothing to contradict that Reaganomics were not just a good idea, but extremely successful as well.
But, what do you think, are the reaganomics facts: good, bad, failed or successful?
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