Reagan was unable to reduce overall government spending as he wanted because Tip O'Neill held the plans to fix the Defense Department (after years of crippling reductions under Carter and Nixon) hostage but he WAS able to reduce the GROWTH in government spending. Domestic programs exploded under Bush but Medicare Part D (a horrid idea) was pushed to enable his narrow win over Kerry (which was still a good thing) and the real explosion took place only after the Democrats took control of the House and Senate in 2006.
Reagan took half a loaf when he could. I'd rather have the whole loaf but I'm glad he took the half he did -- as were the millions of people who were eventually freed from the tyranny of the USSR thanks to putting some muscle back into the US military. President Walter Mondale (had he won) would have eliminated the space program and spent three times as much as Reagan on domestic programs. Presidents Al Gore or John Kerry would have given us the crippling aspects of the Obama Administration 4-8 years earlier and probably gotten on their knees to beg pardon from UBL and the Taliban if they'd won.
Try understanding history before commenting on it.
The subsidized phones started well before Bush; the intent was similar to the TVA providing electricity to rural communities but Democrats have morphed it beyond all recognition just as they have done to every government initiative passed over the last century or so.






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