Ronald Reagan was our best President ever

Ok, so as my final round in this debate, I will address a final few issues and rebut some arguments that my opponent continues to present. I ask that in my opponent"s final round he not bring up any new points as I will be unable to counter them. You are free to try and disprove any points that I bring up here though. Part of this may be that Reagan's policies (keep in mind that the US was the USSR's greatest enemy at this point in time) led to the breakup of the massive Soviet Union. I have shown this to be untrue, and the point has not been countered. Ok, I will gladly counter your argument that he did not end the Cold War. Mr Gorbachev himself answers the question in black and white, regardless of what politicians and historians say: "[W]e will be pulled into an arms race that is beyond our capabilities, and we will lose it because we are at the limit of our capabilities. " If the new round [of an arms race] begins, the pressures on our economy will be unbelievable." It was this realization that brought Gorbachev to the negotiations table. "If Reagan hadn't been president"if Jimmy Carter or Walter Mondale had defeated him or if Reagan had died and George H.W. Bush taken his place"Gorbachev almost certainly would not have received the push or reinforcement that he needed. Those other politicians would have been too traditional, too cautious, to push such radical proposals (zero nukes and SDI) or to take Gorbachev's radicalism at face value. (There's no need to speculate on this point. When Bush Sr. succeeded Reagan in 1989, U.S.-Soviet relations took a huge step backward; it took nearly a year for Bush and his advisers to realize that Gorby was for real.)"[1]. Now on to my concluding rebuttals and statements on Domestic Policy. "Voo-doo economics" is a "popular term too. The debt Crisis, if there is one, can be traced in large part to Reaganomics. 934b when he took office jumped to 2.7t during his presidency. This makes Reagans contribution to the debt a multitude GREATER than any president since, and about 5x Obamas contribution to the debt. https://consortiumnews.com...... OK, first of all, consortium news provides no background whatsoever as to where they obtain their figures for debt acclimation. You must have really been digging to find a source to support that point because here are several, reputable sources that tell a very different story: About News, the Washington Post, Forbes.com, Business Insider, Fact Checker.org, you name it. Granted, Reagan added a higher percentage to the debt but once again, context, context, context. I will once again repeat my previous comments because you seem to have skipped over them: Look at the dire state of the economy facing Ronald Reagan when he assumed the Presidency! Look at the circumstances the nation, and the whole world in fact, was in when he assumed office! At this point, the national debt was about one trillion, to which Reagan added 1.8 trillion. [6] This is large if you look at the percentage increase, but if you take in the CONTEXT of the economy and foreign affairs "Given the dire state of the economy...." Unsubstantiated hero worship. Well there you go. Just say it is unsubstantiated, but don"t bother to try and show that it is wrong, just say it is and call it "hero worship." Nice going man. Just for the heck of it, I will show you that it is indeed quite substantiated. According to the Wall Street Journal, "When President Reagan entered office in 1981, he faced actually much worse economic problems than President Obama faced in 2009. Three worsening recessions starting in 1969 were about to culminate in the worst of all in 1981-1982, with unemployment soaring into double digits at a peak of 10.8%. At the same time America suffered roaring double-digit inflation, with the CPI registering at 11.3% in 1979 and 13.5% in 1980 (25% in two years)." [7] If you want to argue with the Wall Street Journal, be my guest. And now, here comes the PURE GOLD. Let us look at what his policies were composed of, and the effect that they had on the american economy: 1. Cut tax rates to restore incentives for economic growth, which was implemented first with a reduction in the top income tax rate of 70% down to 50%, and then a 25% across-the-board reduction in income tax rates for everyone. The 1986 tax reform then reduced tax rates further, leaving just two rates, 28% and 15%. 2. Spending reductions, including a $31 billion cut in spending in 1981, close to 5% of the federal budget then, or the equivalent of about $175 billion in spending cuts for the year today. In constant dollars, nondefense discretionary spending declined by 14.4% from 1981 to 1982, and by 16.8% from 1981 to 1983. Moreover, in constant dollars, this nondefense discretionary spending never returned to its 1981 level for the rest of Reagan"s two terms! Even with the Reagan defense buildup, total federal spending declined from a high of 23.5% of GDP in 1983 to 21.3% in 1988 and 21.2% in 1989. That"s a real reduction in the size of government relative to the economy of 10%. 3. Anti-inflation monetary policy restraining money supply growth compared to demand, to maintain a stronger, more stable dollar value. 4. Deregulation, which saved consumers an estimated $100 billion per year in lower prices. Reagan"s first executive order, in fact, eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas. Production soared, and aided by a strong dollar the price of oil declined by more than 50%. Sometimes the truth just seems too good to be true doesn"t it? :) But in this case, the facts show that this was indeed true. To fact check, see sources [7, 8, and 9]. Conclusion: My opponent asserts that Ronald Reagan did not end the Cold War, and his foreign policy was harmful rather than helpful to the global community and our nation. However, Gorbachev himself admits that the USSR was pushed over the edge by Reagan"s aggressive military growth. My opponent also fails to admit that these policies, after causing the collapse of the Soviet Union, led to freedom for millions of oppressed peoples in Eastern Europe. On the Domestic front, my opponent fails to address the major upswing of the economy spurred on by Reagan"s stellar economic policies. The facts are black and white. His only rebuttal is that my claims were "unsubstantiated" while in reality were supported by numerous sources. Ronald Reagan was an amazing president who led our country brilliantly through extremely difficult times. Not only did he accomplish amazing feats foreign and domestic, but he kept a light-hearted attitude during this time which was like a breath of fresh air to the american people. Just as a final tribute, here are a few of his best quips and comments making a grave situation seem lighter: "Honey, I forgot to duck." -to his wife, Nancy, after surviving the assassination attempt" "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" "Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." Thank you for the great debate, and I hope to have caused you to think a little bit on this amazing American. P.S. Just curious, but if Ronald Reagan was not the best president, then who was? [1] http://www.slate.com... [2] http://www.un.org... [3] http://www.reaganfoundation.org... [4] http://www.usatoday.com... [5] http://www.pbs.org... [6] http://useconomy.about.com... [7] http://www.forbes.com... [8] http://www.shmoop.com... [9] http://www.forbes.com...