The Gipper: Long dead, recently buried

Ronald Reagan declared big government dead. Former labor secretary Robert Reich now declares Reaganomics dead. And on it goes. …

People, left and right, should shudder. Reaganomics (a term of common derision, but actually coined by recently deceased Paul Harvey) led to the greatest explosion of global growth the world has ever seen. It's a fact. IRAs, 401(k)s, SIMPLEs, SEPs; all by-products of so-called Reaganomics, the reason we're all in business and the reason boomers have a shot — at least — at an affordable quality of life in retirement. Even Bill Clinton (hero of the left until someone better came along), was smart enough not to monkey with it. Yes, his retroactive tax increase raised the top marginal rate, but to nowhere near the 70 percent under his Democratic predecessor. Trickle down, supply side; call it what you will, but it's little more than the belief lower taxes spur economic growth. The alternative? Spending without creating, stagnation rather than innovation. After TARP II and last week's budget proposal, 2009 is shaping up to look a whole lot like 1979, so break out the gold medallions and Quaaludes. As much as I don't want to (and I really don't want to), I'm tempted to say Obama's already failed, he just doesn't know it yet.