Reagan didn't put anything off the table, if he felt it was for the good of the American people to tweak the tax system.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Reagan proved deficits don't matter.
Throughout his life, Ronald Reagan believed America is capable of great things and its people could and would lead the way if left unburdened by taxation and regulation.
Reagan is held up to us as an example of never raising taxes. Correction: Reagan raised taxes six of his eight years as president. Why? He was a pragmatist, not doctrinaire. He saw problems emerging, and when his policies faltered he changed his views. Flexibility, not rigidity.
A long time ago, I watched President Reagan repeat a few simple points about the benefits for everyone of lower taxes, light regulations, and limited government. Successful policies are sold by repetition, not unrelated tangents.
I watched Reagan turn around the country by lowering taxes and controlling spending, and I'm applying the same principles.
The Reagan program is not working because the program is not fair - and, just as important, because the people themselves know it is not fair.
Ronald Reagan was long thought to be the most conservative of Republicans. And by any standard today he is the most popular Republican in modern history. Yet he raised taxes 11 times, supported a ban on assault rifles and the Brady Bill, which mandated background checks, and established amnesty for 3 million undocumented workers.
It's time for conservative Americans to do what Reagan did.
Reagan was president and had Democrats control the House and Senate, and they reformed the tax code. Clinton was president, and he had Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole; they reformed welfare and balanced the budget.
Reagan has turned America into a tax haven.