First, I'm not really going to pay attention to an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle and instead base my opinion of Reagan's presidency on the numbers.
We have to remember he followed the four stooges of ecomic policy when he took office. When he took office he misery index (unemployment rate plus inflation) was at all-time high at 20.6. By the end of his presidency it had been cut in half, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the Census Bureau, 2008 Statistical Abstract of the United States, Tables 670 and 671, real median household income rose by $4,000 in the Reagan years, from $37,000 to $41,000. The was a reversal of the Carter years where median family income fell by about $1,000.
According to the Cato institute by 1989, there were 5.9 million more Americans whose salaries exceeded $50,000 than there were in 1981 (when you adjust for inflation). There were 2.5 million more Americans earning more than $75,000, an 83% increase. And the number of Americans making less than $10,000/year fell by 3.4 million workers.
We have to give credit for his tax cuts leading to the internet boom due to increased investment. I also suspect many of those who refuse to give him credit for the end of the Cold War would feel differently if he had a (D) after his name.
As I said, no presidency is perfect, and I could point to many things that went wrong in every single administration. People seem to pick and choose what to highlight based on the president's political party. But I try to look at an admimistration in total, especially given what was handed to him. All in all I'd have to say it was an extremely successful administration given the four clowns who proceeded him and created an economic disaster, and how good things were when he left.
