Palin claims Reagan faced a worse recession than Obama - False

[Why Syzygy]

It's no secret that Republicans love Ronald Reagan. So it's no surprise to see Sarah Palin, in her new book Going Rogue: An American Life, burnishing the reputation of the Gipper -- and taking a shot at the current president while she's at it.

"Our nation is facing great challenges, but I'm optimistic -- and I know there is a way forward," she writes. "Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession. He showed us how to get out of one."

Was the Reagan recession really worse than the current one? We consulted economists and historians and examined statistics to determine if she's right.

Here are how some of the key factors stack up. (...)

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/17/sarah-palin/palin-claims-reagan-faced-worse-recession-obama/

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. How could Palin be so systematically wrong all the time?

It's probably against the odds. There must be some whacko purpose here to her lying ways. It almost seems like she wants to be wrong, called on her lies, so that her extremist sycophants close ranks around her even tighter in support.

[Arkana]

5. She does no homework, no research, and knows full well

that her audience does not care. She could poop herself on TV and her fans would cheer wildly.

[arbusto_baboso]

14. She ain't wrong, she's just a LIAR.

Like most of her party and its supporters.

I think they know the truth in their heart-of-hearts, but simply refuse to accept it.

[joeybee12]

2. BIG Difference...Reagan CREATED that recession with his voodoo economics...

...two years later his tax cuts and other policies were legislated out of existence and the economy started out of HIS Recession.

[Why Syzygy]

6. Absolutely. Big difference.

This is really Bush's recession.

[hughee99]

10. If I read the article right, the first "dip" was in 1980.

Hod did Raygun create that one?

[Why Syzygy]

11. Carter had record setting interest rates.

I sold real estate. Our brokers told potential buyers that 21% was going to be the new finance rate. It would never go down. Not the most honest people on the planet. I forgot about Carter's problems.

[redqueen]

12. I was wondering that, too. (nt)

[unblock]

13. not really. if anyone, nixon and ford take the blame for that recession.

the oil shocks that took place under nixon and ford caused serious dislocations to our economy, which was even more dependent on oil than it is today. this set the stage for the "stagflation" under carter, for which the only real remedy was the drastically high interest rates that carter's appointed fed chairman paul volker imposed. that squashed inflation, but threw us into that first recession. riding out that recession to recovery was never going to be easy, but it's not easy to find anything reagan did that led to the "double-dip".

of course, it's also not easy to find anything he did that helped. the tax cuts didn't help investment much but they did raise concerns about the deficit, re-igniting inflation expectations. eventually republicans had to quietly undo most of reagan's cuts.

[WCGreen]

21. Throw in the down sizing of the military after Vietnam and you

have too many workers chasing fewer and fewer jobs...

[Hannah Bell]

22. please explain the cause of stagflation.

[unblock]

25. the oil shocks of the early 70's and the failure of nixon/ford to properly address it

of course the ideal solution would have been some diplomatic solution to keep the oil at a reasonable supply/price to begin with.
the supply shortages and very high prices having happened, this caused inflation by directly causing price increases and also slowed the economy by making production more expensive.

generally, governments can solve inflation (by jacking up interest rates) at the expense of causing a (worse) recession OR they can keep out of a recession by allowing inflation (by lowering interest rates). but the middle ground is a compromise that makes no one happy -- stagflation: both inflation and a slow economy.

carter's appointee as fed chairman, paul volker, hit upon the solution -- jack up interest rates first to kill inflation (albeit at the cost of putting us in recession) and then, once inflation expectations are low because the fed has established itself as an inflation fighter, solve for growth through cautiously lowering rates. there's no known path the other way because if you keep interest rates low and inflation is running high, there's no known way to rein in inflation without jacking up rates. part of the asymmetry is that expectations of inflation influence actual inflation far more than expectations of growth influence actual growth.

there's also good info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagflation

[Hannah Bell]

27. that's not an explanation. this contains no explanation:

"the oil shocks of the early 70's and the failure of nixon/ford to properly address it"

[redqueen]

3. K&R

[mitchum]

4. That stupid bitch was watching Dynasty and Dallas during the Reagan years...

she has no idea what was going on

[elehhhhna]

7. I didn't know she had 2 older children!

[mitchum]

8. I really did laugh out loud (after a couple of seconds)

nicely done :)

[Bitwit1234]

9. Well we all know she doesn't know what they heck she is talking

about so I just skip all her articles. They are only revelant when I feel like laughing.

Oh I have to say this on MSNBC this afternoon they had a black republican named Ron on. He had me laughing so hard I had to turn it off. He said Palin was a very intelligent person and that she is helping the republican party. That most people are crazy over her and she would make a good president.

[Saboburns]

15. They tell them what they want to hear,

Truth plays no part in it.

It's why they all think alike, speak alike, and act alike.

[MNDemNY]

16. Reagan was twelve feet tall, and could fell a tree with a single swing of his ax!

Oh...that was Paul Bunyan, sorry, never mind.

[Arkana]

17. "SONS OF SCOTLAND! I AM RONALD REAGAN!"

"Ronald Reagan is seven feet tall!"

"Yes, I've heard! Kills men by the hundreds! And if he were here today, he'd consume the English--with fireballs from his eyes...and bolts of lightning from his arse."

[Why Syzygy]

23. that youtube clip ..

I just cannot get it out of my mind. He would not have survived in this generation.
He got all puffy, almost teary eyed, and proclaimed, yes he did support the Contras! And he was PROUD of it! Second thought, it was rather like Bush/Cheney championing torture in this age. Our elected officials are criminals and we just chew our nails.

[bridgit]

18. Reagan, as I think Palin is capable; never *faced* the one he created himself...

She is the next republican idiot so bring...her...idiot-ass on! She's already toast she's just too dumb too know it

[Ichingcarpenter]

19. Psychology Today: 'Sarah Palin Lies and is a very special liar. Here’s why'

Sarah Palin’s Lies
Sarah Palin is a very special liar. Here’s why.

I studied liars and their lies for decades. I found that the vast majority of liars do care about the truth in at least one fundamental way - they want to be able to assure themselves and others that there is something honest about what they are saying. They want to have some wisp of truth to hang onto.


What would you do if you hated a particular painting, only to have the artist who painted it approach you, point to it, and say, "That's one of my paintings. What do you think of it?" Along with my colleague and friend, Kathy Bell, I actually did research like this. (It is described in professional paper #4 in the book, The Lies We Tell and the Clues We Miss.) A completely truthful answer would have been, "I hate it." Unsurprisingly, that's not the answer our participants preferred. Instead, they tried in all sorts of ways to convey the impression that they liked the painting, while still including something that could be defended as truthful. For example, they might tell the artist that they liked the shape of the leaf in the plant in the background - without acknowledging that the shape of that one leaf was the ONLY thing they liked.

From my post as an outside observer, it seems to me that Sarah Palin doesn't care much about the truth. In that way, she is a very special liar. Instead, Palin seems to love the effect her disingenuous pronouncements have on her audiences and so she just runs with them. Her fans adore her claims about "death panels" and about Obama supposedly "palling around with terrorists" and all the rest. Look at how they roar with approval and fervor when she tosses that red, bloody moose meat to them - how can the mere (non) truth-value of what she is saying ever compete with that? Plus, the fact that her taunts drive her detractors over the edge - well, that just adds to the fun!

Sarah Palin seems to relish the reaction she gets to her claims and complaints. Among her core fan base, the theme that the mean media and the full-of-themselves campaign staffers were unfair to noble, authentic, small-town Sarah seems to be a winner. Whether it is really true is almost irrelevant.



http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200911/sarah-palin-s-lies

[Why Syzygy]

24. Delusional.

That should be an OP. I hope you post it as one.

[WCGreen]

20. the whole Right Wing has these crazy desperate people so bamboozled

that they can and do tell them anything that will increase the divide between right-wing world and the real world.

[Canuckistanian]

26. Reagan CAUSED a greater recession than Obama did

Maybe that's what she meant.