Reagan Legacy
In response to Robert J. Samuelson’s “Reagan’s Legacy Needs No Slogan” (Op-Ed Page, Jan. 11), I wish to suggest that he is wrong and that a very appropriate slogan would be “Borrow and borrow, spend and spend.” Given his statement that the debt “nearly tripled since 1980 to more than $2.6 trillion” it seems fair to ascribe about $1.7 trillion to the Reagan Administration.
If one divides $1.7 trillion by 250 million, the present U.S. population, the per capita increase in debt is $6,800 during the Reagan Administration. For a family of four, this is $27,200 in the last eight years. I hope all of the people who voted for Reagan feel that they have obtained their family’s share of this debt increase in either tax reductions or additional benefits.
I believe that there would be a certain poetic justice if Reagan were to be remembered as “Big Red,” the champion of deficit spending and debt increase.
HAL ENGEBRETSON
Yorba Linda
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