The Expert's Mailroom
 
     The following E-Mail messages are unedited. (posted exactly as I received them) The names are withheld because the readers did not know the messages would be posted on this web site. If you are the sender of one of these messages and would like your name to appear on the message let me know, I know who you are. 
     If you send E-Mail and do not want your message posted here tell me and your message will not get posted. 
  
     The Expert
 
   
I agree with your analysis of Rush's Undeniable Truths - most of these are 
deniable (since they are not true). 
  
I believe in free speech, and Rush has every right under our constitution to say 
most of the things he says, but it is really disturbing to me, that he would criticize 
our President at every turn during this war in kosovo, and almost praise 
Melosovic's determination not to give up. 
  
He would rather our nation lose this war, and jeopardize our security 
- than for Clinton to be able to say he did something good. 
  
NATO took out the tv station in Kosovo because it was a propaganda machine, 
and it threatened the livelyhood of a people who were being ethnically cleansed. 
But what about our nation? I feel Rush is a threat in that he gives our enemies 
comfort, by criticizing our own leaders in their efforts to save the ethnic Albanians 
from atrocities. 
  
Rush is hardly right about anything these days, his intense hatred of Clinton 
has blurred his own vision of truth and what is good for our nation. In the 
past month, he has proven himself to be as un-american as anyone could 
possibly be. Anyone who would turn their back on their own nation - when 
it is obvious he would support our efforts in Kosovo  if there were a republican 
in office, just to promote their political agenda does not deserve to be an American. 
  
I feel he is a traitor to our nation, and that he and the  republican party will pay 
dearly for this (actually - they already have to some extent). 
  
I am neither republican nor democrat, but i am more like the democrats in that 
I have compassion for my fellow man, and don't mind sacrificing some of 
my blessings, so that ALL can enjoy a more prosperous and happy life. 
  
And I am proud to be an American, and I support our leaders and especially our 
young soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their well being, in order to ensure the 
well being of millions of people for future generations to come. 
  
I only hope that the Republicans will forget about their hatred of Clinton long 
enough to realize what is really at stake here - and it's not the next election ... 
  
Name Withheld 
  
Reader, 
     You hit the nail on the head with every comment you made. Do you remember 
how the Republicans supported Reagan and Bush in every little scrape the US got 
involved in during their presidencies? 
  
           Thanks 
  
                    The Expert 
  

 
I was just curious where you got your information for your paper on "The Truth 
About Reaganomics."  I'm taking a econ class right now and I have a group 
project on the topic of Reaganomics and I'm trying to get info. on Defense 
Spending during his time.  Do you know where I can get any info on it?  Also, 
I liked your paper and I'm planning on printing it out and taking it to one of 
the people in the group.  He's a big fan of Reagan and that is why we are 
doing it.  I am doing the conclusion part of the presentation and I'm going to 
be sure people know some "true" facts and figures about Reaganomics thanks to 
your website!  Thanks for the info and keep up the good work.  And if you 
could point me in the right direction for the defense spending stuff I'd 
appreciate it.   
  
Thank you, 
  
Name Withheld 
City Withheld 
  
Reader, 
     You must be quite smart to question the sources of the information on my web page. Personally I am suspicious of raw information and conclusions that do not list the source of their information. I am going to add the information sources to my web site and do a few minor changes when I get the time. 
  
Sources for Reagan web page: 
------------------------------------------- 
exaggerated and untrue claims: 
  
Personal contact with people who really believe Reagan ended communism and created the current economic expansion. 
  
Many stories have been written about the fall of communism and none I have seen mentioned Reagan. The current economic expansion is still being studied, but it is very unlikely Reagan had 
anything to do with it. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
poor middle class and rich earnings amounts were approximate amounts I choose to represent each group. 
------------------------------------------------------------------- 
the biggest tax cut in history: 
  
Encarta 95 - United States/Government/Reagan Years 
---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
who paid less and who paid more 
  
Several studies basically concluded what is listed on the web site as far as earnings and who paid more and who paid less in taxes. I compiled the data and wrote the conclusion in my own words. 
Unfortunately I do not have specific information about any of the studies. 
  
The IRS has all the tax rate percentages compiled by year, I will try to locate them and forward them to you. 
------------------------------------------------------------------ 
three trillion dollars less in taxes the 9 years following the Reagan tax cut: 
  
During his 1992 Presidential campaign Bill Clinton claimed corporations and individuals making over $200,000.00 a year saved three trillion dollars in taxes during the Reagan Bush years. 
------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Reagan's big claim the reduced taxes would cause businesses to hire a bunch of people and these people would pay so much in income tax that it would offset the big tax cut. 
  
This claim is well documented in many publications and the Republicans still claim this theory will work. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Here are some numbers that might help you.................... 
  
Federal Budgets, 1972-1993  
All numbers are the percentage of the Gross Domestic 
Product for each fiscal year. 
  
                  Tax             Total              Human 
Year       Receipts   Spending     Resources    Defense 
1972-81     
(average)  18.7%        21.1                 11.0              5.5 
  
               The Reagan/Bush years 
   
1982-93 
(average)  18.7            23.1                 12.0              5.8 
  
Notice: The difference during the Reagan/Bush years 
and 1972-81 is quite small. Actually government 
spending accounted for a larger share of the GDP 
under Reagan/Bush than in years1972-81.  Spending 
on human resources increased only 1% however the 
number of people living below the poverty level increased 
substantially. Military spending only increased .3%. 
     Here is the year by year breakdown, notice how 
military spending dropped during the Bush years 
offsetting the Reagan military spending spree and 
Human Resources spending increased during the 
Bush years offsetting the Reagan poverty years......... 
  
                  Tax             Total              Human 
Year       Receipts   Spending     Resources    Defense 
Carter Years 
1978          18.6            21.3                 11.3              4.9 
1979          19.0            20.7                 11.0              4.8 
1980          19.5            22.3                 11.8              5.1 
1981          20.2            22.9                 12.2              5.3 
Reagan Years 
1982          19.8            23.9                 12.5              5.9 
1983          18.1            24.4                 12.9              6.3 
1984          18.1            23.1                 11.7              6.2 
1985          18.5            23.9                 11.9              6.4 
1986          18.3            23.5                 11.4              6.5 
1987          19.1            22.5                 11.3              6.3 
1988          18.9            22.1                 11.1              6.0 
1989          19.2            22.1                 11.0              5.9 
Bush Years 
1990          18.9            22.9                 11.3              5.5 
1991          18.6            23.3                 12.1              4.8 
1992          18.4            23.3                 13.0              5.0 
1993          18.4            22.5                 13.2              4.6 
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- 
  
     For more details visit the web site listed below. This web site 
has a huge amount of Reagan Era economic data. If you need more help 
get back to me, I will help any way I can. 

http://www.scruz.net/~kangaroo/1THE_REAGAN_YEARs.htm#reaganpage

   The I.R.S. is also a premier source for monetary statistical information.  
The information the I.R.S. has is not broken down by year, it is broken down by 
category. You will need to do a little digging to find what you are looking for.  
To help you get started, choose the topic you are interested in then choose 
 "Historical", read down the list and download what you feel is most relevant. 
You can combine or compare the statistics from several categories and create 
your own tables and statistical analysis. 

Go to the web site listed below. 

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/tax_stats/index.html 
 

          Thanks! 
  
                         The Expert 
  
Reader's Reply: 
  
Thank you very much for the reply you sent me.  I info you provided me should 
help a great deal. 

Thanks again, 
Name Withheld 

   
I have had several bouts with friends of mine who just will not believe 
that reaganomics was a fluke! They say that the reason the national debt 
got so high was b/c of the democratic spending during these years. They 
say that Reagan let them use a large part of the money for what they 
wanted to use it for, if they gave him the money to build up the 
military. 

Where can I get exact facts on what the democrats spent, as well as how 
much money was wasted on building up a defense too big!! 

Thanks, 

Name Withheld 
  
First Reply: 
  
Reader, 
     I am going to tell you the facts of the matter. I do not have time to research the question right now, but if I can dig up some info. to back you up I will send it when I find it. 

    What actually happened is this....... 

     Reagan wanted to make huge reductions in social spending. Reagan did get cuts in many areas but the Democrats blocked some of his spending reductions. Most of the reductions were in programs to assist the poor and for educational spending. Even if Regan would have got through ALL the spending reductions he wanted the budget deficit would have been huge. The tax cut Reagan implemented was the largest tax cut in US history. (See Microsoft Encarta 95 - United States - Government - The Reagan Years) The tax revenue was reduced so much it was not feasible to balance the budget even with all the cuts Reagan wanted. 
     It is my opinion and the opinion of many economic experts the large reductions in government social spending made the Reagan recession worse. The reduction of government spending slowed the economy and reduced the tax revenue causing the budget deficit to get larger. This is called an economic downward spiral. 
     It always seems ironic to me the Republicans claim tax cuts stimulate the economy (they actually do) then the Republicans turn around and want spending cuts which slow the economy....... The Republicans never seem to want to admit government spending cuts cause layoffs and slow the economy!!!! 

      Hope this helps 

                         The Expert 
  
Second Reply: 
  
Reader, 
     One thing I did not mention about Reagan's spending was the Democratic Congress blocked some of Reagans SPENDING bills. Republicans never seem to know about or are willing admit the Democrats blocked spending on several large military bills that would have added more to the budget deficit. 
    I have heard the old sing song many times about how hard Reagan worked to reduce the budget deficit and the Democrats in congress passed too many spending bills and it's their fault the budget deficit got so big. This is absolutely NOT TRUE. 

           Thanks 

                         The Expert 
  
Third Reply: 
  
Reader, 
     I snagged a few charts you might be interested in. Just  
throwing out raw statistics can be deceiving and subject to 
interpretation. Republicans count on this fact in order to 
confuse the figures. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ 

Tax Collections (billions) 

Year   Nominal    Constant (1987 dollars) 
1980   $517.1     728.1 
1981    599.3     766.6 
1982    617.8     738.2 < Notice the large drop here. 
1983    600.6     684.3 
1984    666.6     730.4 
1985    734.1     776.6 < Revenue did not rise above 
1986    769.1     790.0    the 1981 level until 1985. 
1987    854.1     854.1    Considering the increase 
1988    909.0     877.3    the gain was small and would 
1989    990.7     916.2    have been much larger if not 
1990    1031.3    914.1   for the Reagan Tax Cut. 
1991    1054.3    894.7 
1992    1090.5    895.1 

---------------------------------------------------- 

Individual Income Taxes (millions) 

Using 1981 as a baseline then comparing 
the following years gives these results....... 

Year       Current      Constant (1987 dollars) 
1981     $285,917     $367,692 

1982      297,744     356,366 
1983      288,938     332,033 
1984      298,415     328,470 
1985      334,531     354,677 
1986      348,959     359,307 
1987      392,557     392,557 
1988      401,181     387,128 
1989      445,690     411,533 
----------------------------- 
82-89 total:        2,922,691 
1981 (times 8)     -2,941,536 
----------------------------- 
Net 8-year loss       -18,845 

Corporate Income Taxes (millions) 
  
Year      Current      Constant (1987 dollars) 
1981      $61,137      $78,623 

1982       49,207       58,991 
1983       37,022       42,544 
1984       56,893       62,623 
1985       61,331       65,024 
1986       63,143       65,015 
1987       83,926       83,926 
1988       94,508       91,224 
1989      103,291       98,092 
------------------------------ 
82-89 total:           567,439 
1981 (times 8)        -628,984 
------------------------------ 
Net 8-year loss        -69,545 

Combined individual and corporate income tax loss: $88 billion. 

Notice: Corporate taxes were reduced far more than 
individual taxes. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- 

Federal Budgets, 1972-1993  
All numbers are the percentage of the Gross Domestic 
Product for each fiscal year. 

                  Tax             Total              Human 
Year       Receipts   Spending     Resources    Defense 
1972-81     
(average)  18.7%        21.1                 11.0              5.5 

               The Regan/Bush years 

1982-93 
(average)  18.7            23.1                 12.0              5.8 

Notice: The difference during the Regan/Bush years 
and 1972-81 is quite small. Actually government 
spending accounted for a larger share of the GDP 
under Regan/Bush than in years1972-81. (Of course 
it was not Reagan's fault.....Right?) Spending 
on human resources increased only 1% however the 
number of people living below the poverty level increased 
substantially. Military spending only increased .3%, are 
you suprised? 
     Here is the year by year breakdown, notice how 
military spending dropped during the Bush years 
offsetting the Reagan military spending spree and 
Human Resources spending increased during the 
Bush years ofsetting the Regan poverty years......... 

Carter 
1978          18.6            21.3                 11.3              4.9 
1979          19.0            20.7                 11.0              4.8 
1980          19.5            22.3                 11.8              5.1 
1981          20.2            22.9                 12.2              5.3 
Reagan 
1982          19.8            23.9                 12.5              5.9 
1983          18.1            24.4                 12.9              6.3 
1984          18.1            23.1                 11.7              6.2 
1985          18.5            23.9                 11.9              6.4 
1986          18.3            23.5                 11.4              6.5 
1987          19.1            22.5                 11.3              6.3 
1988          18.9            22.1                 11.1              6.0 
1989          19.2            22.1                 11.0              5.9 
Bush 
1990          18.9            22.9                 11.3              5.5 
1991          18.6            23.3                 12.1              4.8 
1992          18.4            23.3                 13.0              5.0 
1993          18.4            22.5                 13.2              4.6 
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- 
  
     For more details visit the web site listed below. This web site 
has a huge amount of Regan Era economic data.  
  
http://www.scruz.net/~kangaroo/1THE_REAGAN_YEARs.htm#reaganpage  
  
          Thanks! 
  
                     The Expert 
 

 
i would like to thank you for the information on reaganomics.  it will 
help me in my government class.  please e-mail me back at 
(sender provided e-mail address).  thank you 
  
     Name Withheld 
  
Reader, 
     Thank you for the e-mail and your interest in Reaganomics. I have received e-mail from several students who have used information on my web site in their government classes. if you would like additional information about economics or politics feel free to request more information from me via e-mail. As of this time I do not receive a large amount of e-mail therefor I personally answer each one. 
    Studying government can be a little boring, but it is a fascinating subject. 
  
       Good luck in your Government class. 
  
       The Expert 
  
  
     In an E-Mail I received, this reader flamed me claiming I put lies and half truths about Ronald Reagan on my web site. I answered the first E-Mail I received and got back the following E-Mail. In my first E-Mail I explained to the reader I was very objective about the information posted and I would be happy to correct any errors on my web site regarding Ronald Reagan. I also asked the reader if they listened to Rush Limbaugh.   
    Sorry I cannot find the original E-Mail and my first reply. The computer I was using at the time somehow lost the mail and reply.  
  
     The Expert  
 
i will do some more informitaive research and i am a very open minded person that has never listened to rush limbaugh.  
 
     Name Withheld  
  
Reader, 
     Thanks for the reply and your open mindedness. You have a lot going for you by not being a Limbaugh listener. All of the information on my web site has been compiled from many different sources. Unfortunately info. for The Reagan Years is getting scarce. Some of the info. came from Encarta 95, look up United States Government then go down to The Reagan Years. Not trying to quote directly, it says Reagan was frustrated by the huge budget deficits. Now think about this for a minute.......If Reagan himself was frustrated by the increasing budget deficits, then does that mean Reaganomics was a failure? In my opinion it does. Also Reagan was not trying anything new, his methods and theories have been tried before with basically the same results. Virtually all economic experts agree you cannot increase tax revenue by lowering tax rates. 
     For real information on economics scan through issues of Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. Also watch for economic specials on TV. The stories are few and far between but they are around. Also of interest is studying the economics for the years 1919 through 1940 it will be a real eye opener. 
     Thanks for you interest in my web site, your comments and criticisms are always welcome, even if you don't agree with my conclusions. One more thing, I have been studying economics since about 1960. My friends and colleagues all consider me The Expert. 
  
     Yours Truly 
 
                          The Expert 
  
  
     Reagan was a GOD!!!! You are pathetic, quit dwelling in the past moron. For  
god's sake man, get a grip  
   
     Name Withheld  

Reader, 
     Thanks for your interest in my web site and Reaganomics. Some of the information on my web site came from Encarta 95, nothing was ever said about Reagan being a god. In Encarta 95 look up, United States of America, then look in the government section under "The Reagan Years"......Encarta does not have many nice things to say about Reagan. Check it out yourself...... 
     The Reagan era was from 1981 to 1989 which is no doubt "dwelling in the past". My Reagan page was created to serve the needs of people who "still" believe Reagan was a god, brought down communism and is able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound. Information about The Reagan era is not easy to locate and compile into conclusions the way my  web site does. 
     If you are one of the people who really believes Reagan was a god, you are entitled to your opinion. If you HONESTLY look at the facts your position is not supported. My web site has been up for over 6 months and I have received a large number of e-mails such as yours. As I have told all the other respondents, If you find any factual error in my web site, send me the correct information (with proof) and I will make a correction. No one has yet to find any errors on my site. 
     By the way I am not pathetic or a moron............ 

     Thanks 

                    The Expert  
  

Any comments on what Japan's growth had to do with the 1980's?   
Do you have any good links to sites with real statistics on the 1980's,  
such as governmental sites???  

     Name Withheld  

Reader, 
     Thanks for your interest in my web site and the 80's. The economic expansion in Japan started right after World War Two. With reconstruction and economic help from the US, Japan started making mostly toys and novelty items. Shortly thereafter more expensive consumer items started being imported from Japan. By the mid 70's and early 80's large numbers of cars began coming into the US from Japan. Cars being more expensive than TV sets and other electronic items, caused the balance of trade to shift to Japan. ( The US bought more from Japan than it sold to Japan ) This caused a large amount of US cash to accumulate in Japan, at the same time US car manufacturers were laying off workers and loosing car sales to Japanese imports. The layoffs of auto workers contributed to slower economic growth and inflation in this country. Many other factors such as the increased cost of crude oil, higher interest expense of the ever increasing national debt and the high cost of the Viet Nam War, greatly slowed the US economy in the 70's and carried over into the early 80's. When Reagan became President of the US he took a tougher stance against Japan than Carter had done in the 70's. Reagan's tougher stance was mostly talk but it did help and Japan started investing more in the US, but these investments also had a negative side, Japan began owning more assets in the US..............Oh, what a tangled web we weave!!! 
   The I.R.S. is the premier source for monetary statistical information. The information the I.R.S. has is not broken down by year, it is broken down by category. You will need to do a little digging to find what you are looking for.  To help you get started, choose the topic you are interested in then choose "Historical", read down the list and download what you feel is most relevant. You can combine or compare the statistics from several categories and create your own tables and statistical analysis. 

Go to the web site listed below. 

http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/tax_stats/index.html  

             Thanks!! 

                            The Expert 
 
 
         Thanks everyone!!

                             "The Expert"

 
"The Expert's Home Page"