Political Quotes

“It is about 8 cents. So that means the dollar has deflated by 12 times. So if you will multiply $350 billion by 12, you will find today that the debt of the United States is about equal in amount, in dollar amount, real value amount, as it was when we came out of the Second World War. Now, I have been here for 10 years, and I have heard my friends on the other side talk about debt and dollars and failed to relate real dollars and real debt. And I want to point out that the magnificence of what happened from 1945 to 1980 was that this country reduced the real debt of the United States by more than 60 percent, even though in 1980 the dollar debt of the United States was $800 billion. Its real value, relative to 1945 terms, was about $100 billion. We brought that down 60 percent under a Democrat-controlled Congress from 1945 until 1980. Ronald Reagan entered the Presidency and sold the American people on a campaign that he could double defense expenditures, he could reduce taxation on the wealthy of this country, coming down from 70 percent to 28 percent ultimately during his administration, and he could balance the budget. He did keep two of those promises. He doubled the defense expenditures of this country. Even though Russia in every study in the 1980's was shown as ready to collapse, we still doubled our military expenses. He also cut the income tax on the wealthiest corporations and the wealthiest individuals from 70 percent to 28 percent.”